How Tennessee plans to fill the void at wide receiver after Bru McCoy's injury
Asked on Monday about the injury status of transfer wide receiver Dont’e Thornton, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel would only go as far as saying what he usually says about injuries. The Vols will wait and see.
“We’ll see as he gets back on the field this week,” Heupel said during his weekly Monday press conference.
Thornton didn’t dress in Tennessee’s 41-20 win over South Carolina on September 30 at Neyland Stadium. The 19th-ranked Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC), following an open date, are back home to host Texas A&M (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, CBS) in Knoxville.
Heupel said last week that he expected Thornton to be ready to go by the time the Aggies got to town.
“Anticipate him being full speed when we get to A&M,” he said on Wednesday.
Bru McCoy in five games: 17 catches, 217 yards, TD
What’s more clear is the pressing need for a wide receiver to step up this week as the Vols start life without Bru McCoy, after McCoy suffered a season-ending leg injury in the first half against South Carolina.
Thornton is an option to play outside, with Heupel confirming on Monday that, despite staying in the slot to date, the Oregon transfer has “worked at both spots.”
But it won’t be just Thornton or any other singled out receiver filling the void left by McCoy. It will be done by committee, including redshirt freshmen Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod.
“I expect all of them to play at a high level,” Heupel said. “We’re gonna need all of those guys. That’ll be through the course of Saturday, but also throughout the course of the season. So I expect to see all those guys.”
McCoy had the second most catches for Tennessee through five games, with 17. He had the third most yards, at 217, and had one touchdown.
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Thornton has seven catches for 89 yards through four games. Webb has four catches for 33 yards and Nimrod has just one catch for 10 yards.
No. 19 Tennessee vs. Texas A&M, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Despite the lack of production from the three, Heupel said on Monday that “the offense won’t really change.”
“Those guys have been involved,” he said “… offensively, we feel good about their development. They got a practice where we’ll prepare well and get themselves in a position to go play well. We certainly expect that from them and I know they’re excited about the opportunity.”
Offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said Tuesday during his press conference that he didn’t expect the moment to be too big for Webb and Nimrod there hasn’t seemed to be a change in the spotlight shining on them.
“One of the biggest testaments I can give to both those guys is it has been business as usual,” Halzle said. “They’ve been, even when they were in a backup role, they’ve been the guys that they come up and they get extra film every day. You see them up there, they’re grabbing the assistant coaches like, hey, can I get extra stuff?”
“And it’s been the same (since McCoy’s injury),” Halzle added. “So they haven’t tried to make like a wholesale change or try to be something they’re not. They’re both just going in there and this is how I conduct my business. And they have confidence in their skillset and their preparation. We expect them to play well.”
