Tennessee was relatively healthy in its season opener against Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium. There was only one unexpected injury absence as sophomore cornerback Rickey Gibson III missed the game with a minor hamstring injury.
But the sophomore cornerback will make his season debut this Saturday when Tennessee faces North Carolina State in a critical non conference matchup at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
“We held a couple guys (out) on game day,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. “You might have seen him warm up. End of the day, he’ll be be ready to roll this week.”
Gibson did go through warmups before not playing against the Mocs. Temple transfer Jalen McMurray started in Gibson’s place while Chattanooga did little to test the Vols’ pass defense. The Mocs quarterbacks combined to complete 13-of-24 passes for 153 yards.
“It was just felt like for our football team and the longevity, all of it, there were a couple guys that we held out that could have played in that one but will hold for this week,” Heupel said of the decision not to play Gibson in the opener.
More From RTI: Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava Splits SEC Freshman Of The Week Honors
Tennessee lists Gibson as a co-starter on its depth chart but the sophomore will almost certainly start opposite of Jermod McCoy if all goes as expected and he’s healthy enough to play on Saturday night against the Wolfpack. McMurray and sophomore Jordan Matthews will complete the two-deep at cornerback for Tennessee.
The challenge for Tennessee’s unproven cornerback room elevates significantly this weekend against a solid Wolfpack passing attack. Coastal Carolina transfer quarterback Grayson McCall brings experience and success to NC State’s quarterback room while receiver Kevin Concepcion followed up a brilliant freshman season by catching nine passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns in the Wolfpacks’ season opening win against Western Carolina.
Concepcion is a primarily a slot receiver but Heupel discussed NC State’s ability to move him around on Monday and the importance of knowing where he is at all times.
Kickoff between Tennessee and North Carolina State is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Charlotte. Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe are on the call for ABC.
