Vanderbilt at Tennessee injury updates: Thursday availability report revealed

It’s the final week of the season, which means Rivalry Week is finally here. In the state of Tennessee, all eyes will be on Knoxville for the Vanderbilt Commodores trip to take on the Tennessee Volunteers.

Vanderbilt comes into the game with plenty on the line. With a 9-2 record, Vanderbilt comes into the game ranked No. 14 in the CFP selection committee. In other words, the Commodores are a bubble team to make the College Football Playoff. However, with a resume boosting win over Tennessee, the Commodores could be much more comfortable. Tennessee, meanwhile, is likely on the outside looking in with three losses already. However, they would love to find a way to derail Vanderbilt’s season this weekend.

Ahead of SEC conference games, teams release availability reports, starting on the Wednesday before a Saturday game. This week, it’s no different, and both teams sent their updated reports out on Thursday. Those Thursday reports can be seen below.

No. 19 Tennessee Volunteers

• DB Rickey Gibson III – OUT
• TE Miles Kitselman – OUT
• DB Sidney Walton – OUT
• DB Jermod McCoy – OUT
• DL Jordan Ross – QUESTIONABLE
• RB Peyton Lewis – QUESTIONABLE

No. 14 Vanderbilt Commodores

• QB Drew Dickey – OUT
• RB Chase Gillespie – OUT
• DL Yilanan Ouattara – OUT
• DB Vanzale Hinton – OUT
• DL Nikhil Jefferson – OUT
• DB Tate Hamby – QUESTIONABLE
• WR Trent Hudson – PROBABLE

Both teams entered Thursday with several players already ruled out. In Tennessee’s case, that includes three defensive backs. Among them is Jermod McCoy. A star on the Tennessee defense a season ago, he tore his ACL in January while working out. There had been some hope that he could return this season, and head coach Josh Heupel even spoke about the possibility earlier in November, but with the ruling that he’ll be out, it’s an entire season lost.

Vanderbilt has its own injury concerns coming into the game. Again, much of those concerns are on the defensive side of the ball, with a pair of defensive linemen already ruled out. That’s going to make the status of Tate Hamby interesting to keep following throughout the week. The defensive back was probable as of Wednesday.

Coming into the game, Vanderbilt has won two straight games and four of their last five games. Notably, within SEC play, the Commodores are now 3-1 in one-score games. For their part, the Volunteers just dominated rival Florida on the road. That was Tennessee’s second win in a row.

Tennessee is set to host this vital rivalry game at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, November 29th. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST.