Bru McCoy beat Marcellas Dial on a slant, and Joe Milton III found him for a 17-yard gain and the first down. The crowd chanted his name as it does with every single one of his catches.
The chants slowly died down as McCoy lay in serious pain. With Dial in pursuit, he awkwardly brought McCoy down as his leg went under him. It was evident right away that it was a significant injury that will likely sideline him for the rest of the season.
The Neyland Stadium crowd of almost 102,000 fans fell silent as McCoy was carted off the field. Players from both sides approached him to give their support. One last chant filled the stadium as the star wide receiver exited the field.
“I truly, honestly didn’t want to go back out there no more,” Milton said. “Just because I know how hard he works, and I know how hard — it is a loss of words pretty much.”
McCoy entered Saturday night with the second-most receiving yards for Tennessee football with 196. He is arguably the most consistent and complete receiver on the roster. If the Vols need a catch, McCoy is their guy. It showed last year as he made the catch that set up Tennessee’s game-winning field goal over Alabama.
His presence goes deeper then as a pass catcher. McCoy is a stout run-blocker and, ultimately, a leader.
“There’s nobody better than him,” Heupel said. “Great teammate, great leader, tough as they come. Works extremely hard to be his best and make sure his teammates do that too.”
His production will not be replaced as easily as it was with Cedric Tillman’s injury in 2022. There is no Jalin Hyatt to fill the void.
It is going to take a significant step up across the rotation to account for the loss of McCoy. Right now, the three obvious names that come to mind will be Squirrel White, Ramel Keyton and Dont’e Thornton Jr.
White was up to the task against the Gamecocks, racking up his first 100-yard receiving game of the year and hauling in all nine of his targets. Keyton hauled in both of his targets, and Thornton was inactive.
Though each of the three are capable in their own way, it is going to take a committee to fill the void. White is a natural slot receiver, standing at 5-foot-10, 165 pounds. Consistency is Keyton’s best weapon.
Though it is clear what White and Keyton bring to the table, Thornton is the key to unlocking the offense without McCoy. The Oregon transfer received an enormous amount of praise and hype in the offseason as a 6-foot-5 receiver with track speed, but he hasn’t quite broken out during the season.
Thornton is expected to be back soon, but his opportunities have waned as he has struggled with drops and the pace of the offense. If there was ever a time for him to break out, it is now.
A deep wide receiver room is slowly thinning out as the year progresses. Even when Thornton returns, the room is constantly getting banged up.
Outside of the trio of White, Keyton and Thornton, Heupel said that redshirt freshmen Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod are “going to have to play at a really high level.” Freshman Nathan Leacock was thrown into the mix as well.
Football is a cruel game, and injuries are the unfortunate price a team has to pay. However, the silver lining is that injuries provide opportunity.
“We got a bunch of guys that gotta fill the roles, and that’s the nature of this game,” Heupel said. “It inevitably happens. Next man up. They gotta be ready for their opportunity. They gotta go take advantage of it.”
Leave a Reply