Bru McCoy doubtful to play for No. 7 Tennessee at Vanderbilt
NASHVILLE — Tennessee redshirt senior wide receiver Bru McCoy is doubtful for Saturday afternoon’s game at Vanderbilt due to a hamstring issue that flared up during pregame. McCoy was dressed for pregame but was a bystander on the field at FirstBank Stadium and did not play on Tennessee’s first two possessions.
Tennessee had six total players listed as out on its pregame availability report, including defensive back Christian Charles, defensive lineman Jordan Ross and offensive lineman Vysen Lang.
Charles and Ross were downgraded from questionable to out on Friday. Offensive guard Jackson Lampley was removed from the report after being listed as questionable on Wednesday and Thursday.
Redshirt freshman running back DeSean Bishop not being listed on Wednesday’s injury report was the most notable news of the week. Bishop has missed the last three games after being injured early in the win over Kentucky a month ago.
No. 7 Tennessee at Vanderbilt, Saturday, Noon ET, ABC
Tennessee (9-2, 5-2 SEC) needs a win at Vanderbilt (6-5, 3-4) to claim its spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
“It’s kind of stating the obvious,” McCoy said before last week’s game against UTEP.. “Got to win out. Got to win convincingly. Got to show some things on tape that maybe we haven’t shown previously so that whoever knows that we can do certain things at a high level.”
“Just win out and put all the hard work we’ve had on display,” McCoy added. “We’ve talked a lot about the potential we have and almost being there. Now we’ve got two opportunities in these next two weeks to put that on display.”
McCoy this season is Tennessee’s leader in receptions with 35. He has 432 receiving yards, second most on the team by Dont’e Thornton’s 529, and two touchdowns.
He caught 69 passes for 884 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games with the Vols over the last two seasons.
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McCoy started his collegiate career at USC before transferring to Tennessee before the 2022 season. With the Trojans during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he caught 21 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns.
In 2022, his first season at Tennessee, McCoy caught 52 passes for 667 yards and four touchdowns.
Bru McCoy last week vs. UTEP: 4 catches, 37 yards, 2 TDs
McCoy last week caught four passes for 37 yards and caught both of his touchdown passes last week in the 56-0 win over UTEP on Senior Day at Neyland Stadium.
“We’ve been trying to get him in the end zone this whole year,” Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava said after the win. “So I’m glad we finally got him two today. And I hope it continues on the rest of the season.”
He had four catches for 38 yards at Georgia, five catches for 56 yards against Kentucky and six catches for 80 yards against Alabama. He had a season-high 89 yards on six catches against Chattanooga in the season-opening win on August 31.
Against UTEP on Saturday he caught an 18-yard touchdown pass with eight seconds left before halftime, then opened the scoring in the second half with a 7-yard touchdown pass with 8:09 left in the third quarter.
“The first one was just a fade ball and I played Bru, one of my best matchups,” Iamaleava said. “And I’m glad I was able to deliver a ball to him where he get two feet in. I was super excited to finally see him getting in.”
