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Tennessee WR coach Kelsey Pope discusses progress of Bru McCoy: ‘(He) has been a pleasant surprise’
By Sydney Hunte
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Bru McCoy was a 5-star recruit that originally signed with USC out of the class of 2019. After redshirting in 2019 due to an illness, the wide receiver provided a good contribution to the Trojans’ offense in 2020, recording 236 yards and 2 touchdowns in 6 games.
In the summer of 2021, though, McCoy was hit with a domestic violence charge and was suspended from the team, but was never reinstated even after the charges were dropped. He ultimately entered the transfer portal and landed at Tennessee in May, where he will have 2 seasons of eligibility remaining.
McCoy hasn’t played since a Dec. 18, 2020 game against Oregon, so it’s understandable he will need extended time to get back in the swing of things. But wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope has liked what he’s seen during the Volunteers’ preseason camp.
“Bru has been a pleasant surprise. He’s been really good,” Pope said on Thursday, according to 247Sports. “For a guy who hadn’t played in a season, he’s obviously had to build stamina back up, but when you talk about just a physical specimen – some things you can coach, some things you can’t. That guy’s got a lot of things that you just can’t coach.”
Along with stamina, Pope mentioned the need to “polish up the little things with” McCoy as time progresses.
“Walking through in our walk-throughs in the afternoon, when he’s not in the game, when he’s watching the guy that’s in, taking mental reps on the side, walking through reps – all those things are extremely important for him, especially since his stamina, we’ve got to catch up,” he added. “He’s got to take advantage of the reps where he’s not physically going.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
