'It feels like a home': Bru McCoy explains how Tennessee's culture is different from the rest
Bru McCoy’s college football career started at USC, signing with as a five-star wide receiver prospect out of the Trojans’ backyard at Mater Dei High School in Southern California. He transferred briefly to Texas, then made his way back to USC.
He was gone for good after the 2021 season, after two years at USC, transferring again to Tennessee, where he found a more steady home.
So when McCoy compares the culture of the Tennessee football program against others, he’s speaking from a couple different experiences.
“I’ve played for other coaches,” McCoy said recently during a radio interview on WNML 99.1-FM in Knoxville, “and I’ve been in other systems and stuff like that.”
‘Everybody is working towards a common goal here’
But he saw something different with the Vols when he joined the program before the 2022 season. It was evident during his recruitment out of the transfer portal and never went away after he enrolled in Knoxville.
“The biggest difference for me was like, everybody is working towards a common goal here,” McCoy said. “You don’t really feel like everyone’s compartmentalizing their job and not really thinking about (it individually). Everyone’s pulling the rope in the same direction here.
“Coaches want what’s best for the players and the players, because of that relationship, are more willing to go have a better output in their day-to-day. Strength staff has a great relationship with the players, so players want to pour into the weight room.
“It’s all about relationships,” McCoy added, “and caring about one another. And then, obviously, work.”
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Bru McCoy at Tennessee: 17 games, 69 catches, 884 yards, 5 TDs
McCoy put his work on display almost immediately, catching 52 passes for 667 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games in the 2022 season, making a splash during his debut season at Tennessee.
He had 17 receptions for 217 yards and a touchdown in five games last season, before suffering a gruesome season-ending leg injury in the first half of the 41-20 win over South Carolina in September at Neyland Stadium.
On January 2 McCoy announced that he would be returning to Tennessee for another season, with the culture Josh Heupel has built as a big part of the reason for his return.
“When you have a great relationship with your boss, essentially, right, which is what it’s becoming, it’s easier to show up every day,” McCoy said. “And some other places you feel like, it’s almost like people are climbing the corporate ladder of the sport and it’s cutthroat. But here it feels like a home and a family.
“So that for me, when I got here, I was shocked. I was still kind of like, this seems weird. Is this how it actually is? And then being here, I’m like, wow, this is special.”
