What can Bru McCoy do for Vols in 2023? 'Pretty much anything you can name'
Tennessee fans need no introduction to Bru McCoy. When Hendon Hooker took the snap against Alabama and double-clutched in the pocket, buying time, it was McCoy on the receiving end at the 23-yard line with two seconds left.
He needed every bit of his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame to jump up and get the football as Alabama’s Jordan Battle crashed into him.
The rest is history. Tennessee called timeout. Chase McGrath kicked the walk-off 40-yard field goal and the then-sixth-ranked Vols stayed undefeated with a 52-49 win over third-ranked and previously undefeated Alabama.
Still, the question was asked to redshirt senior quarterback Joe Milton III on Thursday at SEC Media Days in Nashville.
What have Tennessee fans not seen from Bru McCoy yet?
“There’s a lot of things you haven’t seen from Bru,” Milton said. “He’s a different person than he was last year. I feel like that’s everybody on Tennessee’s team. We’re different from last year.”
Bru McCoy in 2022: 52 catches, 667 yards, 4 touchdowns
Last year, in his first season at Tennessee, McCoy caught 52 passes for 667 yards and four touchdowns. He’s a former five-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle, starting his career at USC before transferring to Tennessee following the 2021 season.
McCoy opened the scoring in the Orange Bowl in December, hauling in a 16-yard pass from Milton in the back of the end zone for a 7-0 lead over Clemson late in the first quarter. He finished the game, a 31-14 Tennessee win, with four catches for 48 yards. Milton threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns on his way to the game’s MVP award.
Now he enters 2023 as Tennessee’s starting quarterback, knowing full well what McCoy is capable of.
“Pretty much anything you can name Bru can do,” Milton said. “Whatever it takes, Bru is going to get it done. He also lets me know that pretty much every day.”
Joe Milton III: ‘I’m extremely confident, and I’m ready for it’
Milton and McCoy both step into bigger roles after Tennessee’s wave of NFL Draft picks earlier this year.
Milton replaces Hooker at quarterback while the overhaul at wide receiver comes from the departures of Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, two wideouts that combined for 2,991 yards and 32 touchdowns over the last two seasons.
But Milton is just as sure of himself as he is of McCoy.
“I’m extremely, extremely confident,” Milton said. “I trust the guys around me. I trust my coaches to go through the preparation with me confidently. I’m extremely confident, and I’m ready for it.”
