Colton Hood isn’t interested in revisiting the past from his Colorado days.
The Tennessee Vols cornerback declined to elaborate on his time under Deion Sanders when asked at the NFL Scouting Combine this week, choosing not to answer a question comparing Sanders to Josh Heupel. However, Hood’s silence stood out.
“I won’t really get into the differences,” Hood said before 2026 NFL Combine. “At Tennessee, you know, coach Heupel definitely cared about his players. So he definitely did the best to keep us healthy. You know, get us to Saturday. So yeah, he did a great job with that. You know, just a great coach. A players coach. So I love coach Heupel.”
Tennessee CB Colton Hood on the differences between Deion Sanders and Josh Heupel@AtoZSportsNFL pic.twitter.com/78mon2SxXE
— Ryan Roberts (@RiseNDraft) February 26, 2026
Hood thrived in Knoxville. He earned SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors after a standout performance against Syracuse and finished with 50 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, eight pass deflections and a pick-six. Draft projections have him rising as a solid first-rounder in the 2026 NFL Draft, and will likely be the highest former Colorado cornerback selected since Travis Hunter went No. 2 overall last year.
Hood did offer praise for his development in Boulder. The battles with Hunter and Colorado’s deep receiver room added to his knowledge of the game. The refusal to address Sanders directly suggests there may be lingering tension as Colorado enters a must-win 2026 season under Coach Prime.
The redshirt freshman played in all 13 games during Colorado’s 9-4 campaign in 2024, totaling 24 tackles, six pass breakups and two interceptions. But he was part of the over 30 Buffaloes players to enter the transfer portal after the season, later posting on X that the program was “moving in a different direction.” Hood’s brother, Brandon, and his cousin Trent, all hit the portal at the same time.
Colton Hood ultimately transferred to Tennessee, seeking SEC competition and College Football Playoff exposure. Tennessee finished 8-5 in 2025, a step forward compared to Colorado’s 3-9 mark.
Hood will show off his skills at the NFL Combine on Friday afternoon.
