Tennessee’s offense took a major hit Saturday night when receiver Bru McCoy suffered a fractured-dislocation of his right ankle that required season ending surgery Sunday morning.
What’s next for McCoy’s football future is uncertain and a conversation for another day as he begins rehabbing the injury. But what’s next for Tennessee football’s receiver core this season?
“Not any different than the guys you’ve seen lately,” Heupel said of the subject. “Kaleb Webb is gonna have to play at a high level. Chas Nimrod. Dont’e (Thornton) wasn’t available tonight. We should be able to get him back, get him going too. Nathan Leacock. So we got a bunch of guys that gotta fill the roles and that’s the nature of this game. It inevitably happens. Next man up. They gotta be ready for their opportunity. They gotta go take advantage of it.”
Webb and Nimrod are the most obvious players for Tennessee to turn to. Heupel and receiver’s coach Kelsey Pope have talked highly of the sophomore duo since fall camp, insisting that they have confidence in each player.
And Tennessee’s receiver rotation backs it up. The Vols have almost exclusively played three receivers the last two seasons but both sophomores have earned real, albeit limited, snaps this season. Webb has played 83 offensive snaps (30 against South Carolina) Nimrod has played 73 offensive snaps (19 against South Carolina) this season.
More From RTI: Tennessee’s Open Date Coming At The Right Time
That’s who Tennessee turned to against the Gamecocks and those are likely to be the two they turn to most frequently moving forward.
Thornton is an intriguing option. The Oregon receiver has been Tennessee’s most disappointing offensive player to date and has just seven catches for 89 yards over the first month of the season.
However, Thornton is incredibly talented and has a “freak skillset” according to offensive coordinator Joey Halzle. Where using Thornton becomes intriguing is the fact that he’s played exclusively slot receiver this season. Tennessee coaches said during fall practice that he was working inside and outside but we’ve only seen him in the slot to this point in the season.
That adds even more necessity to Thornton getting healthy and increasing his training out wide during practice.
Nathan Leacock is the least likely of the players Heupel mentioned to step up and earn a major role this season. The talented freshman no doubt has a bright future but he’s yet to play an offensive snap this season and is clearly behind Webb, Nimrod and Thornton on the depth chart.
