by J.T. Toth
Photo courtesy of Tennessee Athletics.
At Draft 412, the NFL draft talk never ends. We will keep you ready for the next set of gridiron stars—from today and all the way until draft night 2024. We will bring you mock drafts, player profiles, individual team needs, and everything else you may need related to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Today’s Spotlight - Tennessee, Wide receiver, Bru McCoy
Name- Bru McCoy
Pos- Wide Receiver
Team- Tennessee
HT/WT- 6’3” 220 lbs.
Born- 6/22/2000
Home – Los Angeles, CA
Bru McCoy was a five-star prospect and ranked the No. 2 overall player in the state of California by 247Sports in 2019. While at Mater Dei High School, he put up big time numbers including 1,428 yards on 78 receptions and 18 touchdowns in 2018. He was named USA Today All-USA first team. McCoy decided to stay home and play for the USC Trojans, picking them over several other Division one offers.
In 2020, he started 3 games at wide receiver for the Trojans in the COVID shortened season and tallied 21 receptions for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman.
He was suspended just weeks before the 2021 season after being arrested for a domestic violence case. His suspension lasted the season and by the time the suspension was lifted by USC, McCoy had already entered the transfer portal and elected to play at Tennessee. In 2022, he started all 12 games for the Vols and finished second on the team to Jalin Hyatt in catches with 52 and yards with 667.
McCoy caught 2 passes for 21 yards in the first game of 2023.
Bru McCoy has smooth hands and catches the ball away from his body, adjusting to throws and making plays that should be outside of his catch radius. He is a graceful athlete with long arms to extend his reception window. He is an aggressive runner and easily breaks through arm tackles, picking up yards after the catch.
McCoy does not have elite speed however, and has issues separating from tight man to man coverage. A checkered past will always follow him and when you mix in the injuries he has sustained, teams will be doing their due diligence on him. He has trouble at times finding the soft spots in zone coverage and will need to improve on that as he transitions from the Vols gimmicky offense into an NFL pro style of play. He sometimes lacks effort when it comes to blocking and he gives up on plays earlier than he should.
Watching video on McCoy, New England Patriots wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster may make a strong NFL comparison. Smith-Schuster, a USC Trojan himself, plays with equally sure hands and is tough to bring down after a catch. Both players lack that separation speed to make them a home run threat and both have comparable blocking styles that run-balanced teams love (if and when McCoy finishes his blocks). Smith-Schuster is willing to throw his body around to make a big block, something McCoy will have to learn to do.
Strengths
Hands
Twitchy
Aggressive runner
Catch radius
Weaknesses
Checkered past
Injury concerns
Gives up on plays
Blocking
Final Analysis
It feels like we in the draft community have been hearing about Bru McCoy for a long time. The problem is it has been for what he has done off the field that keeps pressing him down draft boards. It will be nice to see if McCoy can mature into a better player and person on and off the field. If he does, some team will get a steal on day three of the 2024 draft.
Draft 412 Draft Projection - Round 4 or Round 5