Bru McCoy isn’t you average incoming wide receiver. It’s complicated.
First, McCoy is very good. The transfer from Southern California was rated a five-star prospect in high school before things went awry in college. We’ll get to that.
Second, McCoy has already transferred three times and is just a sophomore. Lastly, he was accused of domestic violence while at USC. Let’s start with the latter.
Moving on
McCoy was never charged with any crime and won’t be, according to reports, so one would think that he would be available to play without any hesitancy concerning legal issues, unless Tennessee’s coaches know something that hasn’t been made public. If so, the Vols never would have taken McCoy as a transfer in the first place, so he’s definitely expected to play this fall. That leads us to another issue.
According to current NCAA rules, which have been challenged and are incredibly ambiguous, McCoy should have to sit out a season because he has transferred more than one time in college. Players can only play immediately after a transfer if that’s their first move. The move to Tennessee would be McCoy’s third move. He transferred from USC to Texas, then back to Southern California and, finally, transferred to Tennessee.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said on Sunday that McCoy still wasn’t eligible, but that all of the right steps have been taken to change that.. Therefore, his situation is still a bit in limbo. Tennessee opened camp on Aug. 1 so a final decision would be helpful for the Vols. That hurdle has nothing to do with McCoy’s athletic skill set. Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren recently provided Off The Hook Sports with some insight on The Vol Report.
“Obviously Bru is going to be a great addition for us,” Warren said. “He’s a big wide receiver. He’s got good hands, runs good routes and is a physical guy.”
The future
When and if McCoy gets to the field, he will be imposing. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound receiver would be a perfect compliment to SEC preseason All-SEC wideout Cedric Tillman, who is listed at 6-3 and 215 pounds by UT. The two would be one of the most physically imposing receiving duos in the SEC, if not the nation. The Vols would just have to fill in depth at receiver around them since they run so many four and five-receiver offensive sets.
McCoy has already proven he can play – and play well – in college football. He played in six games for and started three as a redshirt freshman for USC in 2020. He caught 21 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Despite his talent, McCoy has to prove he can fit in with the Vols. Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren said McCoy is on his way.
“He’s always the same guy,” Warren said. “He’s always really fun to be around, really easy to be around. It doesn’t really matter if you know him that well or not; he’s easy going and nice to be around. He’s definitely one of those people.
As long as whatever issues that have sidetracked McCoy’s college career in the past, he could be one of the top transfers/newcomers in the entire nation.
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