Bru McCoy doesn't know what it was like before.
He arrived at Tennessee during a time of transformation, one that he would be a part of and one that will accumulate in what will likely be his final game at Neyland Stadium on Saturday against UTEP (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Before he got there as a transfer wide receiver from Southern California in 2022, the Vols were less than two years removed from a three-win campaign and still in the throes of an NCAA investigation for violations that occurred under fired head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
Josh Heupel was hired to try and revive the program after a decade of mediocrity and he took a step forward with a better-than-expected 7-6 season in 2021 despite a mass exodus of players that left Tennessee with a plethora of deficiencies.
The following year, the Vols won 11 games for the first time in more than 20 years, catapulting Tennessee back to college football's upper echelon. The signifying moment of that arrival was a 52-49 win over Alabama at Neyland Stadium.
McCoy caught the pass from Hendon Hooker that set up Chase McGrath's game-winning field goal.
"I wasn't around prior coaches, and I didn't see much of the Tennessee records, but I know that when I got here, the standard stopped being 'we might win' and (it became) 'we expect to win,'" McCoy said. "I think following that in 2023 we had an expectation to win, and that bar got pushed a little higher and then a little more higher. It's to the point where no one is thinking about 2020 or 2021 necessarily. This new standard of Tennessee should be in the SEC championship.
"They should be competing for championships every single year, and we should have 10 season wins consistently. I'm proud to have been a part of that change."
Tennessee is competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff in McCoy's third year in the program.
The Vols (8-2, 5-2 SEC) are heading into the final two games of the regular season in the playoff picture, and though that won't be decided for another three weeks, their positioning is another example of how the current senior class has contributed to Tennessee's football revival.
"You look at this group of seniors, so many guys that when I first got here, chose to stay here and have been cornerstones in building this program," Heupel said. "A lot of guys that have played a lot of great football for us. Great leaders, but great individuals too."
Omari Thomas was a freshman in 2020 and his first season was a tumultuous one.
Tennessee followed up a 2-0 start with six-straight losses in a COVID-shortened season. Then right before the Vols kicked off their final game of the regular season, reports surfaced that the NCAA was investigating the program for recruiting violations.
Tennessee's roster was pilfered through, but there were players that opted to stay. Thomas, a Memphis native, was one of them. Now he's one of the headliners of one of the best defensive lines in the country.
"It's amazing to be a part of something like that because you get a chance to be a part of the change," Thomas said. "I know when I picked this school, I wanted to be a part of something that was going to change and going to head in the right direction and become an elite program. Tennessee was everything that (fit that criteria). We're just continuing to grow and that's where we want to continue to go is just be a good program, good people with good culture."
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.
