As of last week, Tennessee wide receiver Bru McCoy officially received his immediate eligibility approval from the NCAA.
After transferring from USC to Tennessee in the spring, the Vols’ coaching staff was optimistic that McCoy would get his waiver during training camp. While the waiver did take longer than expected, it is officially approved heading into week one.
McCoy has been with the Volunteers throughout all of training camp so far, starting with the team on Aug. 1. The former USC receiver has been banged up a bit, but does seem to have been fitting in nicely with Tennessee’s group of pass catchers. McCoy is every bit as physical as his 6-foot-3 frame projects him to be, which will be useful in Tennessee’s offense.
The Tennessee coaching staff has also been very complimentary of McCoy throughout August. See what Josh Heupel, Alex Golesh, and Kelsey Pope have all said about Tennessee’s newest transfer wide receiver entering the 2022 season.
Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel
Aug. 19 – “Obviously, getting him prepared, being able to rep him, you’d like that before you start your regular game plan week. Essentially seven days before kickoff. That’s best-case situation where you are able to work him, incorporate him and play him for what it’s going to look like when we run out of the tunnel. Our administration has done everything that they possibility can. They’ve been great throughout the entire process from the very beginning. They’re still working as hard as they can to give him the opportunity to play. I don’t have an answer on that (when eligibility decision would be). There are some things that are out of my control, Bru’s control and our administration’s control in this process. Everybody on our side is working as hard as they possibility can to make sure that we come to a resolution as quickly as possible and give the kid an opportunity to go play.”
Aug. 9 – “I feel like Ramel (Keyton) has done some positive things. Walker Merrill has been out there and made some plays, operated really efficiently. Bru (McCoy) has done some really good things in some of our practices. That’s a point of competition here still on the back half of training camp. We have to have multiple guys step up, and certainly would like to have at least one of them to step up and grab a hold of that position.”
Aug. 1 (Opening practice) – “Bru is big, strong and long out on the perimeter. He’s learning how to play in our offensive system and how to play from the whistle of the previous snap to the snap of the next one. For him, I think he has gained a much better understanding of that throughout the course of the summer. The first couple of weeks of June are so dramatically different than by the time we got to July with him. He is a guy who has played college football and competed at a high level. That maturity is something that is an advantage for him in coming here and transitioning to our football program.”
Tennessee OC/TE Coach Alex Golesh
Aug. 23 – “We’re approaching it like we’re going to have him. We’ve approached it that way since he got here. Then we’ll adjust as we need to, if we don’t. Really good football player. Has fit right in to our culture. Has added to our culture. Hard-working, tough, smart, really dynamic. To be honest with you, in a lot of ways, super, super grateful to be here and have another chance to do this and having a blast with it. We’re approaching it like we’re going to have him, and then we’ll adjust if worst-case scenario happens.”
Tennessee WR Coach Kelsey Pope
Aug. 11 – “Bru has been a pleasant surprise. He’s been really good. For a guy who hasn’t played in a season, he obviously has had to build stamina back up. But, when you talk about just a physical specimen, some things you can coach and some things you can’t. That guy has a lot of things that you just can’t coach. For him, it’s just honing in on the details and getting it polished up for him really to become a technician. He’s a big athlete. He’s physical, twitchy and he can run. For us, it’s just about being able to get his stamina up, get him back in shape and then polish up the little things with him.”
Aug. 11 – (On how quickly someone can learn the Tennessee offense) – “It varies. It depends on what kind of learner you are. Some guys are visual, some guys are kinesthetic, some guys can get on the board and write. I think for Bru, he’s a kinesthetic guy. He’s not a rep guy at all, but he’s a kinesthetic learner. In our walkthrough in the afternoon when he’s not in the game and when he’s watching the guy who’s in, he’s taking mental reps on the side and walking through reps. All of those things are extremely important for him, especially since we’ve got to catch up his stamina. He’s got to take advantage of the rest when he’s not physically going.
