Earnest Greene, Jermod McCoy injury updates: Availability report reveals status for Georgia vs. Tennessee

The No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 15 Tennessee Volunteers open SEC play Saturday in a highly-anticipated Top 15 matchup that kicks off at 3:30 pm ET on ABC. The Bulldogs have dominated the rivalry in recent years, winning eight straight in a series that dates back to 1899.

The two longtime SEC rivals have played every year since 1992 when the league first split into East and West divisions. But with the league’s decision to move to a 9-game conference schedule beginning in 2026, there’s concern this could be the last season as yearly opponents. The SEC will determine three permanent opponents and a rotation of six other league opponents at a later date this season.

With its eight straight victories, including four consecutive blowout wins in Knoxville, the Bulldogs hold a 29-23-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Vols. Despite the recent lopsided nature of the rivalry, Georgia enters the contest eager to establish its offensive identity behine first-year junior starting quarterback Gunner Stockton. Meanwhile, Tennessee has been rolling offensively despite its own offseason shakeup at quarterback, with former Appalachian State transfer Joey Aguilar durrently ranked sith in the SEC with 535 yards on 66.1-percent passing and five touchdowns through two games.

Georgia Bulldogs

TE Ethan Barbour – Out
OLB Chase Linton – Out
WR Thomas Blackshear – Out
OL Juan Gaston – Questionable
OL Earnest Greene — Probable

Tennessee Volunteers

DB Rickey Gibson III – Out
DB Jermod McCoy – Out
DL Daevin Hobbs – Out
DL Tyree Weathersby – Questionable
RB Hunter Barnes – Questionable
DL Jaxson Moi – Questionable
OL David Sanders – Questionable

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said this week he’s hopeful to get back a pair of ailing starting offensive linemen in junior right tackle Earnest Greene (back) and freshman right guard Juan Gaston (ankle) after both have been banged up by nagging lower-body injuries. Greene and Gaston both started the season-opener against Marshall but each left the game before the end of the first quarter and neither were available last week against Austin Peay.

“Both of those guys showed good progress yesterday. I really liked the way both of them looked. I liked the reps they took,” Smart said during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference. “They’ll take more reps today and (we’ll) just see where they are. We’ve got to make a good judgement, and today and tomorrow are physical days for us so we’ll get after it and find out where they are.”

Meanwhile, the Volunteers will be without the services of starting cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III on Saturday, according to On3’s Chris Low. McCoy is still recovering from an ACL tear suffered in Janary, while Gibson suffered an arm injury in Tennessee’s season-opener vs. Syracuse. Gibson left the season-opener early in the Vols’ 45-26 blowout, recording just a single tackle.

No. 6 Georgia (2-0) enters Saturday’s game as a 3.5-point favorite over No. 15 Tennessee (2-0) with a over-under score total of 49.5 points, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook. That a shift from the game’s odds earlier this week when the Bulldogs opened as 7-point favorites, per BetMGM.