Tennessee football fans can thank all-time greats Patrick Mahomes and Jimmy Rollins among many others for guiding star cornerback Jermod McCoy to the Vols.

It was a winding road that went from East Texas to Oregon State and finally Knoxville.

But it’s unlikely that Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs’ NFL MVP quarterback, or Rollins, the former Philadelphia Phillies’ National League MVP, know that they played a part in McCoy’s journey.

Mahomes’ influence came first and strongest.

McCoy grew up in Flint, Texas, as a three-sport star in football, baseball and track at Whitehouse High. It was the same school where Mahomes had excelled in football, baseball and basketball a decade earlier.

McCoy followed Mahomes’ template. He worked extremely hard in every sport and didn’t stress over what he could potentially do if he played only one sport.

In high school, Mahomes was already a sports idol to local kids like McCoy.

Mahomes’ aunt was McCoy’s favorite teacher in third grade. So Mahomes, then a high school quarterback and pitcher, watched McCoy play in few youth football games.

In 2018, when Mahomes became the Chiefs starter, he made sure to say hello to McCoy while visiting his old high school. And the connection continued when McCoy, as a 16-year-old, was coached in baseball by Mahomes’ dad, former major leaguer Pat Mahomes.

“(Patrick Mahomes) has probably forgotten about me by now, but he kind of knew me back then. I really looked up to him,” McCoy said. “Of course, when you’re in Little League, everybody looks up to the high school quarterback.

“But he watched me play a few times. And I was pretty good.”

McCoy, a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist, has quickly become one of the best cornerbacks in college football in his sophomore season after transferring from Oregon State to Tennessee.

Tennessee (8-1, 5-1 SEC) plays Georgia (7-2, 5-2) on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET) at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. And McCoy is one of the biggest reasons to believe the Vols could pull out a road win as the underdog.

He worked hard to get to this moment, and that extended far beyond the football field.

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McCoy’s brush with Mahomes’ greatness left an impression. And the message of working hard in multiple sports was reinforced by other sports idols and McCoy's parents.

"I was OK with whatever he chose to do," Jermod’s mom, Kaneshia Brown, said. “But I didn’t know which sport he was going to be more successful at because he was good at all of them."

McCoy was a star wide receiver at Whitehouse in football. But he was also an all-state baseball player and a state track champion in the long jump and triple jump.

When McCoy was 12, he was invited to a select baseball camp in Florida, where his elite speed, hitting and centerfield skills hinted that college baseball was in his future. His parents wondered if McCoy might drop his other sports.

But a guest panel of MLB stars, led by Rollins, offered advice to the young athletes.

“They told the kids not to focus on just one sport and told the parents not to push the kids to one sport,” Jermod’s stepdad, Claude Brown, recalled. “They said to let your kids play as many sports as they can, and the sport they’re meant to play will find them.”

Two baseball games, two track state titles in 36 hours

That guidance sealed McCoy’s multi-sport approach, which fed his workaholic nature.

During the fall in high school, McCoy juggled sports and got little sleep.

Football practice was in the morning before school. Track practice was after school. Weightlifting was late at night. And McCoy would squeeze in batting practice when he had a few spare minutes.

It was more hectic in the spring.

Baseball practice was in the morning and again after school. Football conditioning was during school. McCoy would dip out of afternoon baseball practice early to do sprints, relays and jumps at track. Then he’d go to another track practice for his club team to finish the night.

During his freshman year, McCoy also played basketball.

“But you’ve got to give up something,” his mom said. “You can’t play every sport.”

During one crazy 36-hour period in his senior season, McCoy led his high school baseball team to back-to-back playoff wins in Whitehouse and won state titles in the long jump and triple jump in Austin, 240 miles away, in between the baseball games.

He pulled off that feat on just a few hours of sleep and a lot of determination.

“I can always look in his eyes and know that he’s ready to compete. And Jermod had that look that day,” Jermod’s dad, Jason McCoy, said. “You don’t have to talk him up before a game.

“That competitive drive isn’t put on him. It’s in him.”

McCoy never had an offseason, but he didn’t want one.

“I feel like if I’m not working, I’m not getting any better and I’m losing skills,” McCoy said. “I don’t like the feeling of losing a skill. I only want to get better.”

His work ethic hasn't changed from 5 years old to Tennessee

McCoy hates to fail, especially if he can prevent it.

As a 5-year-old playing tee ball, he got upset when he didn’t make the all-star team. So he spent the next few months relentlessly hitting baseballs off a tee, taking ground balls in the backyard and working on fielding drills with tennis balls in the house at night.

By the next season, he was among the best 6-year-old baseball players in the area.

“That’s how he’s been his entire life,” his stepdad said.

McCoy doesn’t show much emotion when he fails. Instead, he internalizes his anger and works harder to correct even the smallest mistake.

McCoy has the fourth highest coverage grade of any SEC cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus. But in Tennessee’s 28-18 win over Kentucky, he gave up a 32-yard touchdown on a superbly thrown pass and a one-handed catch by Ja’Mori Maclin.

SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers said McCoy had “perfect” coverage on the play. But that didn’t excuse it in McCoy’s mind.

In film study the next day, McCoy nitpicked his pass coverage. And in practice, secondary coach Willie Martinez and graduate assistant Earnest Thomas had McCoy cover that same route over and over until his technique was flawless.

“That shouldn’t happen,” McCoy said of giving up a touchdown. “But if it doesn’t get fixed, it will keep happening.”

McCoy was under-recruited, but chose Tennessee second time around

McCoy thrives on opportunities to prove himself.

Once he chose to play college football, he was under-recruited. College coaches hadn’t seen him in prospect camps because he was busy playing baseball and running track. And although McCoy mostly played wide receiver, college coaches thought he would make a better defensive back.

McCoy received only a three-star grade from recruiting services and a scholarship offer from only one power conference school, Oregon State. He accepted it and switched from offense to defense.

By the end of his freshman season, McCoy was one of the Pac-12’s best cornerbacks. But the Pac-12 folded amid conference realignment, Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith left for Michigan State and McCoy entered the transfer portal.

With his talent no longer being a secret, McCoy was rated a four-star transfer prospect and received offers from virtually every SEC school.

McCoy was at Tennessee for only 14 hours on a recruiting visit. But Martinez said one walk into an empty but enormous Neyland Stadium sold him on the Vols.

“I wish I could say it was my expertise (as a recruiter),” Martinez said. “Once he went into Neyland, he told his dad that he wanted to come here. But he didn’t tell me that (until later).”

The secret behind picking off Jalen Milroe

McCoy arrived at Tennessee once again with something to prove.

In his first practice in the spring, teammates said McCoy picked off passes and smothered receivers. And coach Josh Heupel was impressed by how quickly McCoy soaked up information, especially since he was still learning to play cornerback.

“I felt like I could always play at this level,” McCoy said. “Coming out of high school, I thought I should’ve been here.”

McCoy has started all nine games and made 32 tackles, two interceptions and six pass breakups, which leads the team. He was the Jim Thorpe national defensive back of the week after his performance against Oklahoma.

But McCoy’s leaping one-handed interception of a Jalen Milroe pass in the end zone and his ensuing 54-yard return against Alabama are what Tennessee fans remember most.

McCoy cherishes that play because it combined skills from all his sports.

McCoy knew from football film study that Milroe liked to throw a goal-line fade to receiver Ryan Williams. He used his explosion from long jumps to meet Williams in the air.

He elevated with his left arm skyward, just as he did countless times against the centerfield wall wearing a baseball glove.

He picked off the ball with his left hand, just as he routinely did as a clutch wide receiver in high school.

And once the football was in his grasp, McCoy went from standing still to a sprint in a split second, just as he did dropping bunts and beating out throws to first base his entire life.

“All those sports build you up,” McCoy said. “And, ultimately, all those skills will add up and play a role in the sport you pick.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Patrick Mahomes set Jermod McCoy’s path to Tennessee football