During Tennessee's matchup with South Carolina in the 2023 season, wide receiver Bru McCoy went down with a season-ending injury.

As he recovered, he was forced to sit out of spring camp while recovering from injury.

While he's still been limited, McCoy was back to practicing to begin fall camp a month before kick off.

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On the first day of camp, head coach Josh Heupel could tell it was a big moment for McCoy. The process of rehabbing is physically and mentally exhausting but he had reached a critical point of the process.

While he would be limited, he was still able to take this big step.

"For Bru, you can tell just walking out the football field from him today at practice it was a big day for him," Heupel said. "Everything that’s gone into, from the injury, to the rehab, from mentally and physically getting back to the point where you’re ready to go compete. We’re gonna control his volume and availability as we go through training camp. Today was a big moment for him. Really proud of what he’s done and how he’s grown. He’s a tremendous leader inside of our locker room and really excited that he’s back out there."

To offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, being able to see him run at full speed was a cool thing to see. After watching McCoy attack the rehab process and maintain elite shape as best he could, it was now starting to pay off.

"It's absolutely insane what that kid did this off-season," Halzle said. "For everything else, with everything going on as far as players that people are excited about, like Bru McCoy, that ankle injury was, you saw it, but the fact that that kid is out there running full speed and making cuts and making catches and didn't gain a bunch of weight. Guy still looks like a superhero when he walks around out here."

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As McCoy battled back, he had to be limited at times. Trainers needed to hold him back as he went through the process for his own safety.

While he sat out, he still wanted to impact the team. He did what he could from a leadership standpoint and it made an impact on the Vols.

"It's like, this guy is absolutely insane the way he went through that," Halzle said. "He was like, 'Okay, what's my job, what am I supposed to do when I can't run right now?' and he did that. The training staff actually said 'Hey, Bru, we've got to pull you back a little bit.' Like he's pushing it over and over and over to try to get back as quickly as possible. The guy is just an absolute animal in every aspect of whether its strength training, conditioning, his rehab, his football knowledge. He just attacks it all the same way which is why he's made this comeback so quickly which I don't know if everybody thought he was going to be able to. It's special to watch."

As McCoy continues to take steps toward a full return, there isn't much of a rush to get him back. Tennessee is loaded at wide receiver which lets McCoy take his time to get fully acclimated.

Having the veteran on the field is certainly a significant advantage, though.

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