What Can Tennessee Do to Replace Bru McCoy?

After a serious injury to Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Bru McCoy, what is the answer for his replacement within the receivers group?

During Saturday's win for Tennessee over the South Carolina Gamecocks, wide receiver Bru McCoy suffered a season-ending injury. Since then, he has received surgery on his ankle that turned out to be a success.

A big question now sits in the Vols' offensive schemes. How will they replace McCoy during the remainder of the season? McCoy was a big-time threat in the Tennessee passing game with 217 yards and a 12-yard average per catch through the first five games in 2023. That volume is vital and hard to come by. The Volunteers have a long time until their next game against Texas A&M to decipher what to do. They have a bye week this upcoming Saturday.

One receiver who has started slow and could see more time is Dont'e Thornton. He has 89 yards on the season but missed Saturday's game against South Carolina due to a late scratch from the active list for Tennessee. Thornton has just seven receptions on the season, the least among the Vols' receiving core. The only game where he had a decent sample size of activity was against Florida. He had 53 yards through the air during the Tennessee loss in Gainesville.

His addition this offseason was one of Tennessee's most notable moves in the transfer portal. Thornton was a standout in the slot at Oregon and was a top wideout in the Pac-12. The issue may now be forced upon the Vols' coaching staff to get him involved more with the new absence of McCoy. Regardless, there are more options available to look at, too. The pair of freshman wideouts Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod have shown flashes by getting involved in the passing game. The Volunteers do have extra time to think about it with the bye week appearing. 

Tennessee Volunteers WR Kaleb Webb during a loss to Florida. (Photo by Caitie McMekin of the News Sentinel)

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