SEC initial availability report ahead of Vanderbilt confirms Jermod McCoy will not play in the regular season for Tennessee

Well, the wait can finally end for anyone still holding out a shred of hope that Jermod McCoy might make a last-minute return for the Vols’ season finale against Vanderbilt. And, at this point, even the most cockeyed of optimists likely have already accepted the reality that McCoy wasn’t going to return this season.

The SEC released its availability report for the final week of the regular season, and McCoy is listed as out for the game.

Kitselman is also listed as out, which given how he was helped off the field against New Mexico State and his reaction thereafter, it’s not a surprise.

As far as the remaining names, Peyton Lewis finds himself on there again after missing the game against Florida. Jordan Ross is a new name on there, so we’ll see if he can improve to probable or off the report as the weekend approaches.

McCoy suffered an ACL injury during training activities away from the team back in January, and an ACL injury often falls in the 9-12 month range for a recovery and return to full football activities, and that range isn’t hard and fast either.

We’ll find out if the Vols can wrap up a 9-3 regular season without McCoy and dash Vanderbilt’s slim College Football Playoff dreams on Saturday, when the Vols and Commodores square off inside Neyland Stadium.