Bru McCoy
 McCoy in 2024 | |
| Tennessee Volunteers – No. 5 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Class |  |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | June 22, 2000 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College | |
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Horace "Bru" McCoy III (born June 22, 2000) is an American college football wide receiver for the Tennessee Volunteers football team. He previously played for the USC Trojans.
Early life
[edit]Horace McCoy III received the nickname "Bruiser", from his grandmother when he was eight months old; the nickname was later shortened to "Bru".[1][2] His parents were athletes at Northern Illinois University; his father, Horace II, played college football, and his mother, Shelby, played volleyball.[3] He has two sisters, Alexa and Ava.[4]
Though the McCoy family lives in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, he went to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, instead of Palos Verdes High School, because he thought it would improve his chances of playing college football.[4] He played for Mater Dei's football team as a wide receiver and linebacker.[1] In his senior year, he had 77 receptions for 1,428 yards and 18 touchdowns as a receiver, and five sacks as a linebacker.[5] MaxPreps named him their National Football Player of the Year.[6] He was named to the All-American Bowl, and won the U.S. Army Player of the Year Award.[7]
College career
[edit]University of Southern California
[edit]A five star recruit out of high school, 247Sports.com ranked him the ninth-best recruit in the class of 2019.[4] McCoy committed to the University of Southern California (USC) to play for the USC Trojans.[8] He graduated early from Mater Dei and enrolled at USC in January 2019. After 17 days, he opted to transfer to the University of Texas at Austin, as he felt betrayed by Kliff Kingsbury, the Trojans' offensive coordinator, leaving USC to be the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League.[4][9][10] He participated in spring practice with the Texas Longhorns, before he decided to leave Texas.[11] He transferred back to USC in June.[12] He missed several months of the 2019 season due to symptoms that were never diagnosed, and took a redshirt for the season.[13][14] McCoy made his college football debut for the Trojans in the 2020 season.[15] He caught 21 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns.[16] After a July 2021 arrest for alleged domestic violence, McCoy was suspended indefinitely from the football team. Citing privacy regulations, former USC coach Clay Helton was not forthcoming with more information with the media.[17] Despite all charges being dropped for a lack of evidence, USC did not reinstate McCoy.[18]
University of Tennessee
[edit]In May 2022, McCoy announced his transfer to the University of Tennessee to play for the Tennessee Volunteers football team.[18] On the 2022 season, McCoy recorded 52 receptions for 667 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. He had three games going over the 100-yard mark in the Volunteers 11–2 season.[19][20]
In the 2023 season, McCoy recorded 17 receptions for 217 yards and one touchdown in five games.[21] He suffered a season-ending displaced fracture of his right ankle against South Carolina on September 30.[22][23]
McCoy returned in the 2024 season to lead the Volunteers with a total of 35 receptions and made his 100th reception of his career late in the season against Georgia.[24]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Albano, Dan (August 22, 2018). "Two-way standout Bru McCoy emerges as Mater Dei's physical presence". Orange County Register. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Lago, Kristen (December 7, 2018). "Five-Star Athlete, Bru McCoy, Looks Back on Storied Mater Dei Career". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Morales, Antonio (March 9, 2020). "'He was worth it': Bru McCoy's tumultuous 2019, as those in his corner lived it". The Athletic. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Fader, Mirin (June 10, 2020). "The Mystery of Bru McCoy". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Sondheimer, Eric (December 29, 2018). "The Times' high school football player of the year: Bru McCoy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Fryer, Steve (January 3, 2019). "Mater Dei's Bru McCoy named national football player of the year by MaxPreps". The Orange County Register. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ "All-American Bowl Awards: Winners announced for All-American Bowl Awards". USA Today. January 5, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Albano, Dan (January 5, 2019). "Mater Dei receiver Bru McCoy commits to USC". The Orange County Register. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Litman, Laken (June 7, 2019). "Bru McCoy's transfer saga is one of a kind". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Jones, Kaelen (January 24, 2018). "Five-star USC commit Bru McCoy transfers to Texas". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Albano, Dan (May 31, 2019). "Ex-Mater Dei football star Bru McCoy leaving Texas, may be headed back to USC". The Orange County Register. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ McCollough, J. Brady (June 11, 2019). "USC announces arrivals of Bru McCoy and Chris Steele to football program". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ Kartje, Ryan (August 10, 2020). "Illness and a Texas detour left Bru McCoy hurting. Clay Helton helped him turn a corner". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (October 30, 2019). "USC Trojans freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy to miss 2019, debut next season". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ Grosbard, Adam (December 4, 2020). "Bru McCoy leading next wave of young USC receivers". The Orange County Register. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Grad, Austin (January 3, 2021). "Analysis: How Amon-Ra St. Brown's Departure Effects USC's Offense: A look into how USC's receiving group stacks up in 2021". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ Montana, Claudette (August 7, 2021). "Clay Helton Shuts Down Questions About USC WR Bru McCoy's Suspension". Si.com. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ a b Sparks, Adam (May 3, 2022). "Tennessee football gets Southern Cal transfer wide receiver Bru McCoy". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- ^ "Bru McCoy 2022 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- ^ "2022 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- ^ "Bru McCoy 2023 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (October 1, 2023). "Vols WR McCoy out for season with ankle injury". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "Tennessee receiver Bru McCoy has surgery to repair a displaced fracture of his right ankle". AP News. October 1, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ "Bru McCoy 2024 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2024.