Colton Hood

Summary

Colton Hood (21 years old) is a cornerback who began his college career at Auburn (2023), transferred to Colorado for the 2024 season, and then transferred to Tennessee in 2025. In 2025, Hood started all 12 regular-season games and totaled 50 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss, eight pass breakups, one interception returned for a touchdown, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown, establishing himself as a playmaking boundary defender in SEC competition. The nephew of former NFL defensive back Roderick Hood, his 2025 campaign earned him All-SEC recognition, Thorpe Award semifinalist status, and SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors for his impact in his Tennessee debut, building on a productive 2024 rotation role at Colorado that included two interceptions. Hood has been an SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and is widely viewed as a confident, competitive worker whose multi-sport background (baseball center fielder, track 4×100 relay team, basketball) and film habits show up in his instincts and finishing mentality, with no publicly reported significant off-field incidents. From an injury standpoint, he has generally been available and productive, missing zero games and just sitting out for one Senior Bowl practice session with a toe issue.

Strengths

• Mirror, Mirror, on the Ball: Light, reactive feet allow him to stay attached through the route stem, especially against speed-based receivers. Looks most natural when asked to match and carry rather than pattern-read.

• Greasy Hips: Opens and flips cleanly without excess strain, helping him stay in phase on verticals and deep overs. Movement skills give him room to grow into a more complete coverage defender.

• Competitive Maniac: Doesn’t shy away from contact at the line and attempts to disrupt timing early. Will step up and throw his body into perimeter fits.

• Click & Close: Drives downhill with urgency when playing off coverage. Doesn’t mentally spiral after giving up a catch — short memory corner.

Weaknesses

• X Receivers: Can be displaced at the top of routes and boxed out at the catch point by bigger targets. Doesn’t have elite wingspan to consistently shrink throwing windows late in reps.

• Reacher: Will lean and reach if slightly beaten, increasing penalty exposure. Can allow receivers to stack him if he loses early hand battle.

• Ball Production: More disruptive than productive, which is somewhat surprising for a prolific baseball center fielder. Must convert tighter coverage into more turnovers.

• Danger Zone: Still developing feel for route layering and spacing in off-zone structures. Hood’s Zone Coverage Score of 7.90 is on the lower end of the spectrum for the 2026 cornerback class.

Outlook

Hood projects as a twitchy, competitive cover corner with quick feet, sharp route recognition, and the fluidity to mirror releases both outside and in the slot, giving him valuable inside-out versatility. He fits best in man-heavy and pattern-match defensive schemes that allow him to stay in phase, drive on underneath throws, and play with vision and anticipation rather than sitting in static soft zones. Hood’s draft stock is somewhat polarizing, with some tabbing him as a surefire first rounder while others more hesitant. Whenever Hood hears his name called on draft weekend, it feels like the success of his NFL career will be deeply tied to his landing spot, scheme, and coaching to allow him to flourish.

Pro Comparison: Samari Rolle

Team Fits: PIT, MIN, DAL, LAR, MIA