Vol Club Confidential: Jermod McCoy and Holden Staes
Tennessee picked up several key additions in the transfer portal this offseason. Two of them, Jermod McCoy and Holden Staes joined Vol Club Confidential presented by Knoxville Smiles this week to talk about their transition to Rocky Top and so much more.
“It’s a lot more to do than when I was at Oregon State,” McCoy said. “There is just a lot more out here. The facilities is more accessible. We have a bunch of nutrition stuff. The field is open all the time. I’m always able to get some work in or go chill.
The athletic, ball-hawking transfer cornerback joins the Vols with three years of eligibility remaining. He began his college career at Oregon State and played 12 games with five starts as a true freshman in 2023.
Staes spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Notre Dame and has two years of eligibility remaining. He played in 11 games as a sophomore in 2023 and caught 15 passes for 176 yards with four touchdowns. He had his best performance of the season at NC State by logging a career-best 115 receiving yards on four receptions, two of which went for touchdowns of 40 and 35 yards. He visited Tennessee first when he went into the portal but decided to take more trips. In the end, Tennessee always felt right.
“Leaving the weekend I felt really confident with Tennessee,” Staes said. “The conversations I had with my parents when I was taking other visits that I wanted to cross my t’s and dot my I’s. I had so many good options like Washington and they were in the playoff at the time, and Georgia. After seeing those schools I didn’t think it was enough for what Tennessee had to offer.”
In today’s world of college football, you change teams and your teammates come and go. They both have found a group they like in Knoxville.
“It’s been a transition for sure,” Staes said. “It’s never easy leaving your teammates at your other school. I still talk to those guys. You want to come to your new school and cultivate new relationships and it’s been great so far. I think everyone has embraced the new guys with open arms and realized we are here to help Tennessee get to the National Championship.”
