Josh Heupel on Bru McCoy injury: 'I hate it for the kid'

When Bru McCoy went down with an injury in the second quarter vs. South Carolina, Neyland Stadium was instantly concerned. Eventually, the cart came out and the Tennessee wide receiver was taken back to the locker room. A scary moment for what was apparently a leg injury for McCoy.

Tennessee’s Josh Heupel commented on the situation heading into halftime, saying it did not look good from his perspective either. Of course, Heupel immediately thought about what it meant from McCoy and stated he hated it for him.

“Obviously, doesn’t look good,” Huepel said via SEC Network’s Cole Cubelic. “I hate it for the kid. Not a better kid, not a tougher kid in the country.”

While you never want to see anyone go down with an injury, McCoy had people not wanting to watch him be placed on the cart. Leg injuries can be gruesome at times and if Heupel is getting emotional about it during his postgame interview, it’s not a positive update.

McCoy has been a key part of the Tennessee offense through four games played this season. He was second in receiving yards, having 196 yards on 15 receptions. Add in a touchdown and Joe Milton was connecting well with the veteran wide receiver.

At the very least, McCoy is not going to return to Saturday’s game against South Carolina. He is likely to be out for an extended period of time as well. Hopefully, there is a scenario where McCoy can get back onto the field before the 2023 season ends.

Bru McCoy giving back via NIL with ‘Huddle for Hearts’

Every time he scores a touchdown this year, McCoy’s ‘Huddle for Hearts’ NIL initiative will see an automatic external defibrillator (AED) donated to an underserved community. It’s a cause that hits home for McCoy in a number of ways.

McCoy explained the origins of the NIL give-back scheme with On3’s Andy Staples. A number of factors influenced McCoy to give back in this way, including the high-profile injury suffered by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in early 2023.

“It had a big effect on me. It was the first occurence where you see somebody potentially lose their life on the field. Or the first time I had seen it. I think the only other time I could think of off the top of my head of hearing something like that was like Hank Gathers, and that was a story I was told and saw a YouTube video on,” McCoy said.