'New year, new me': Tennessee Football players explain reasons for changing jersey numbers
For Bru McCoy, No. 5 was always the number. He may have spent the last two seasons wearing No. 15 for Tennessee Football, but the No. 5 jersey was one he always had his eye on for multiple reasons, leading to his number change this season.
“I’m wearing No. 5 this year because, first and foremost, (there are) five members of my family,” McCoy said recently during a video the Vols posted on social media. “Me and my mom, my two sisters Alexa and Ava, and my dad.”
And then there’s Reggie Bush, the former Heisman Trophy-winning USC running back who made a big impact on McCoy as a kid growing up in California.
“Reggie Bush was like the running back I grew up watching my whole life,” he said. “I always wore 5 through Pop Warner, through high school. And then when I transferred here, Hendon (Hooker) was wearing it. So I wore 15. And then subsequently now, I just feel like it’s my last year, why not?”
14 Tennessee players changed jersey numbers
A handful of other Tennessee players had that same thought. The recently updated roster for the 2024 season has at least 14 number changes.
Redshirt freshman tight end Ethan Davis went from No. 86 to No. 0, sophomore defensive back Rickey Gibson III went from No. 18 to No. 1 and redshirt junior defensive back Andre Turrentine went from No. 17 to No. 2.
“My first number was 34 (at Ohio State),” Turrentine said. “My last number was 17. You divide 34 by 17, it’s two.”
Junior defensive back Jourdan Thomas switched from No. 25 to No. 4 and sophomore defensive back Christian Harris went from No. 29 to No. 5. Junior wide receiver Squirrel White switched from No. 10 to No. 3, after the No. 3 was vacated by Dee Williams.
“New year, new me,” White said. “… It’s a lot of meanings. This is the number I wore in high school. I’m the third son in my family. My dad’s favorite number is three. I feel comfortable in No. 3.”
Chas Nimrod: ‘I always thought 11 was a good receiver number’
Junior linebacker Kalib Perry went from No. 40 to No. 8 and freshman Mike Matthews, the former five-star recruit, switched from the No. 89 he wore during spring practice to No. 10.
Redshirt freshman Tyree Weathersby switched from No. 41 to No. 18 and Jaxson Moi, the transfer defensive lineman from Stanford, went from wearing No. 99 in the spring to now wearing No. 51. Redshirt freshman Emmanuel Okoye switched from No. 27 to No. 98 and also changed positions, going from tight end to the defensive line.
Sophomore defensive back John Slaughter went from No. 33 to No. 12 and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chas Nimrod went from No. 81 to No. 11, wearing the number that Jalin Hyatt starred in during the 2022 season.
“I always thought 11 was a good receiver number,” Nimrod said. “And I thought this year would be a good year to switch my number going into it.”
