Sounds like things are going well.
About eight months ago we saw one of the most gruesome injuries you’ll ever see on a football field. Bru McCoy, Tennessee’s powerful wide receiver and one of the leaders of the program, went down with an ugly lower leg injury. The impact and severity of it was instant, and a long rehab process was laid out in front of McCoy.
The injury may have impacted McCoy’s NFL decision, with the 6-3, 220 pound receiver obviously unable to do much of anything physically. McCoy instead opted to use his COVID year of eligibility to return in 2024.
That’s a big veteran boost for Tennessee, and it gives him another shot to prove himself to NFL teams after his 2023 season was cut short.
“Been really exciting to see just his growth,” Josh Heupel said of McCoy’s rehab at a Big Orange Caravan event this week. “I had our strength staff record him the other day as he was sprinting in the indoor, and he looks really natural. The gait is fluid. The speed is coming along really well. Man, just I’m really excited for him. There’s a big forest that you’ve got to go through with the injury that he’s had and he’s had to do this multiple times for different reasons. It’s fun to see him come out the other side of the forest, and really excited for Bru.”
McCoy caught 52 passes for 667 yards during the 2022 season, scoring four touchdowns. He caught 17 passes for 217 yards before going down with the injury last year. McCoy now will help usher in the Nico Iamaleava era, looking to make things a bit easier on the sophomore quarterback and first-time starter.
A former five-star recruit, McCoy had quite the winding road to Knoxville. A recruiting saga for the ages played out back in 2019, as McCoy flip-flopped and transferred back and forth to Texas and USC. He ultimately ended up a Trojan for three seasons, before finding a true home at Tennessee.
Heupel uses McCoy as a power player — a run after the catch guy on screens, a leader blocker on the perimeter for those screens and a guy that can make tough catches in traffic over the middle. He’s also made huge catches down the field in big moments, none bigger than his grab against Alabama in 2022 to set up the game winning field goal.
Tennessee missed him in a big way last season down the stretch. Adding him back into the equation will be big for the offense as a whole, especially as the Vols’ transition to a young quarterback.
“He should be ready,” Heupel said. “He’s in a position to have an elite summer and be ready to roll.”