There were plenty of reasons to wonder if Bru McCoy was a malcontent when he came to Tennessee. After all, he had transferred three times and once filed a lawsuit against his former school, Southern California, following allegations of domestic assault, which he has firmly denied.

The lawsuit, which was dropped in July, pertained to McCoy being banned from campus. In just a few weeks, McCoy has gone from the center of drama to a feature piece in Tennessee’s offense.

There was reason to wonder why Tennessee coach Josh Heupel would take in a possible trouble maker at a position that was already loaded with talent. Heupel must have done his homework because there’s absolutely no reason to think that McCoy won’t be a valuable commodity for the Vols the season.

With preseason All-SEC receiver Cedric Tillman sidelined with an ankle injury against Florida, McCoy was one of the players who stepped up and filled the void left by Tillman’s absence. McCoy caught five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown against the Gators in a 38-33 victory on Saturday. That’s reason No. 1 why the Vols would take McCoy after a checkered past. Let’s face it. If McCoy couldn’t play at a high level, he wouldn’t have gotten another chance at Tennessee. That’s just common sense.

McCoy’s ability was never in doubt. His approach to his college career after transferring to Texas, then back to Southern California, then to Tennessee was understandably curious. Why didn’t things work out at his other stops? The common theme among all the noise around McCoy’s career was, well, McCoy. Typically, one would think he was the problem. Now, that doesn’t seem so clearcut.

Despite his past, McCoy comes across as a humble young man that is more about helping his team than he is about just making a name for himself. 

“I’ve grown older and matured a lot and learned,” McCoy said in his first public comments since becoming a Vol. “I was just happy for the opportunity.”

Think about how preseason camp must have felt for McCoy. He was asked to give his all when he didn’t even know if he would be eligible this season. He has to trust that Tennessee was doing everything it could to make sure he was eligible, which UT was finally able to do just six days before the season opener against Ball State.

By all accounts, McCoy did just that. He kept working hard, believing that he would be able to play eventually and return the favor that the Vols offered him with production and a consistent approach that wouldn’t upend a locker room that had already established a team-first mentality. That phone call declaring that McCoy was eligible couldn’t have come soon enough.

“Prior to it, I was really anxious just waiting to find out,” McCoy said. “I came a long way. Finally getting to know, more so I was just happy to give something to the team, provide something  and not just be this body that came in and there was all this media behind it.

“Now, I got this opportunity to come out and play and do something for the team. It was just a big weight lifted off of my shoulders and my family’s shoulders. I was just extremely excited.”

Tennessee should be excited as well. Per several analysts, McCoy might be the most talented player on Tennessee’s roster. Yes, he’s that good and, so far, his character seems every bit as exemplary.

McCoy’s transition from the west coast to Tennessee has been as smooth as one could hope for. He’s admitted he didn’t fully grasp what playing in the SEC would be like. Now, he’s even more grateful after seeing what football in the south can look like. That was on display on Saturday when the Vols hosted the Gators. 

Whether it was happenstance, organic or orchestrated, a friendship with Tillman helped McCoy make the move to Tennessee a successful one so far. Tillman, who is from Las Vegas, immediately took McCoy under his wing.

“Me and him connected when I first got here,” McCoy said. “He really helped me come in, along with Hendon, and brought me in as part of this team. We kept building a relationship and knew we had something special.”

McCoy was right. The Vols do have something special. It’s not everyday that a transfer with baggage from another school can make an impact so quickly. McCoy is doing that. He’d probably like to change some of the decisions he made in the past and how he made them. However, he certainly doesn’t look like a malcontent now. He looks like a player that the Vols can rely on to be a positive force in the locker room and a dominant force on the field.