In one of the saddest stories related to Tennessee Football, former Vols wide receiver Bru McCoy is medically retiring from the sport. Once a five-star who was UT’s best NFL prospect, McCoy, who suffered a season-ending broken leg in 2023, was not selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.
It appears as if McCoy never fully recovered from that injury.
While everybody should wish the best for McCoy in his future, as he was one of the best leaders and hardest workers for Tennessee Football, his injury does shed some light on the passing game issues the Vols faced last year. Perhaps it offers reason for hope in 2025 as well.
Former UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava was not living up to his hype all year, as the Vols’ passing game was relatively pedestrian. They made up for it with a historic year by Dylan Sampson, and it’s certainly true that Iamaleava’s youth, pass protection issues and teams running that 3-3-5 shell all contributed to that.
However, what was a suspicion was confirmed with McCoy’s retirement, which is the Vols didn’t have what they needed out of the receiver room. As Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley still had to learn the system, Josh Heupel chose seniority in McCoy, Squirrel White and Dont’e Thornton last year as his go-to guys. Chris Brazzell II was in there too.
McCoy was the only receiver in that group capable of dictating coverage. It’s clear that he lost a step, though, and that was due to him never recovering from the leg injury. As a result, the deep shots weren’t there nearly as much, and it was harder to lead him and other receivers on those the way Hendon Hooker could in 2022.
Add in the fact that White played with a separated shoulder for most of the year and Thornton was never 100 percent, and you see why the passing game had some issues. This year, that should all be different with the players they have ready to step into those roles.
Despite just seven catches last year, Matthews is a receiver who seems capable of dictating coverage, and Heupel’s system is one young receivers need a year to figure out anyway. He’s got more speed than McCoy, so this could easily be his breakout year, and he’s fully healthy.
Brazzell is still the complementary possession receiver on the other side, and he’ll have far more opportunities if Matthews can dictate coverage. Staley and Boo Carter will bring speed to the slot that White couldn’t last year due to his injury. Simply put, the unit should be way better.
Add in Joey Aguilar, a veteran willing to let his receivers make plays, replacing Iamaleava, and there’s reason to believe the Heupel offense could return to where it was in 2022. Sure, Aguilar is a gunslinger, but that’s actually a positive in this offense, when quarterbacks don’t have that many plays that give them the chance to throw interceptions.
It all comes down to Matthews replacing McCoy, though. Given McCoy’s injury, it’s clear he just couldn’t do what he needed to do last year, and Matthews wasn’t ready since he was a freshman. Assuming Matthews has figured it out, he should be a huge upgrade, and that’ll increase production everywhere else, so watch out for the Tennessee Football passing attack once again.
