After Tennessee lost Jermod McCoy last January, many Tennessee football fans were anxious about how the secondary would shake out. Colton Hood stepped up massively and was a force all year long. He has a chance to be a first-round pick next fall. Rickey Gibson III was expected to be a game-changer, but he also went down with an injury and missed the season.
That left Tennessee turning to three-star true freshman Ty Redmond, and he didn’t waste any time making an impact. Redmond stepped up immediately, posting an impressive 81.6 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, a mark that’s considered “great” by their standards. Not bad for a freshman thrown into the fire. Plus, Redmond added three interceptions and forced 11 incompletions, which was the best in the nation.
True Freshman Leader in Forced Incompletions | 2025 Season:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 21, 2026
❌ Ty Redmond, Tennessee: 11@Vol_Football pic.twitter.com/1vSMgLnIbq
Now, Redmond has the task of carrying even more responsibility this fall. He enters the season as Tennessee’s No. 1 cornerback, with several hungry defenders battling behind him for the No. 2 spot. The spotlight is his, and how he handles it could shape the entire secondary.
CB Ty Redmond needs to be even better this year for Tennessee
I know it's a lot to ask, but Redmond is one of the only returners from last fall who will be starting on defense this year. Jim Knowles brought in an abundance of new players, especially safeties for the Tennessee defense. With all the new faces, Tennessee needs its proven talent like Redmond to make a difference.
Tennessee was ranked No. 118 in the country in passing yards allowed per game last fall. This falls on everyone: the pass rush, the linebackers, and the secondary. If Tennessee wants to have any sort of success as they did in 2024, this cannot happen again, and players like Redmond need to be the anchor of this defense, especially with a difficult nine-game SEC schedule next fall.
Redmond was still great last year, don't get me wrong, but he did struggle versus the upper echelon of opponents. If he can take his game to a new level when the Vols play the SEC elite, they have a real chance to do something big in 2026.