DJ Waller Jr, Jermod McCoy injury update: Kentucky, Tennessee reveal status of key players on Wednesday report

On Saturday, No. 17 Tennessee and Kentucky will square off at 7:45 p.m. ET in Knoxville. It will mark the fifth conference game of the season for both teams.

The Volunteers are 5-2 (2-2) with conference wins against Mississippi State and Arkansas. Their two losses came against No. 6 Alabama and No. 6 Georgia. Kentucky is 2-4 (0-4) with losses to all four SEC opponents its played this season (No. 20 Ole Miss, South Carolina, No. 12 Georgia and No. 21 Texas).

The rivalry between the two programs dates all the way back to 1893. Tennessee has dominated the all-time series 84-26-9 and has won 36 of the last 39 meetings dating back to 1985. In short, the Volunteers have completely owned the Wildcats in recent history.

Heading into that matchup however, both teams are dealing with injuries. For both teams’ Wednesday night availability reports, look below.

No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers (5-2, 2-2)

• LB Ben Bolton – QUESTIONABLE
• LB Arion Carter – QUESTIONABLE
• TE Ethan Davis – QUESTIONABLE
• DB Rickey Gibson III – OUT
• WR Radarious Jackson – QUESTIONABLE
• DB Jermod McCoy – OUT
• WR Travis Smith Jr. – OUT

Kentucky Wildcats (2-4, 0-4)

• DB Nasir Addison – OUT
• TE Elijah Brown – OUT
• WR Fred Farrier – QUESTIONABLE
• TE Josh Kattus – PROBABLE
• RB Seth McGowan – QUESTIONABLE
• TE Willie Rodriguez – PROBABLE
• DL Kahlil Saunders – PROBABLE
• OL Aba Selm – QUESTIONABLE
• ILB Devin Smith – OUT
• OLB Jacob Smith – OUT
• DL Nic Smith – OUT
• WR Troy Stellato – OUT
• DB DJ Waller Jr. – DOUBTFUL
• WR David Washington Jr. – OUT
• RB Jamarion Wilcox – OUT

Prior to Tennessee‘s game against Arkansas two weeks ago, head coach Josh Heupel said that All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy “continues to do a great job in his rehab”, but did not offer up a timeline for his return.

On3 previously reported that the Arkansas game was a target date for a possible return. But McCoy has not gone through a full practice and has not taken any contact yet, as Volquest’s Brent Hubbs previously reported. The projected First Round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft is still recovering from a January ACL tear.

Meanwhile, Kentucky is dealing with a lingering injury to one of its defensive back’s as well. DJ Waller Jr., who has not played since the Wildcats’ season opener against Toledo, was off availability reports last week and it looked like he’d be good to go against Texas. Waller Jr. however was a late scratch and missed his fifth consecutive game.

Standout running back Seth McGowan is also questionable for the game against the ‘Vols. McGowan left the Texas game early but returned following a negative CT scan. Through six games this season, McGowan boasts 476 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

Tennessee boasts (statistically) the second best offense in the SEC (511.0 YPG). Kentucky meanwhile is the third-worst defense (statistically) in the SEC (365.0 YPG). Josh Heupel‘s team has scored at least 40 points in all five of its seven games this season (averaging 44.1 PPG). Kentucky‘s offense has yet to reach the 30-point mark in SEC play this season, and has held conference opponents to 29 points per game.

Kick-off for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 7:45 PM ET. The can be seen on SEC Network.