McCoy in right place in debut
After two years of waiting marked by a mysterious illness and a winding transfer saga, was due a break.
As it turned out, in his long-awaited debut Saturday for USC, he’d get two. Both of which would be crucial in securing a 28-27 comeback victory over Arizona State.
The redshirt freshman wideout caught only two passes for 19 yards before the Trojans faced a fourth-and-13 with fewer than three minutes remaining. McCoy wasn’t even the target when quarterback uncorked a throw toward the left corner of the end zone, knowing a penalty flag for offside against Arizona State had already been thrown.
The target of that throw,
was blanketed by defenders. But he managed to tip the ball into the air. Nearby, McCoy was conveniently waiting. As the ball f luttered in the air, McCoy snagged it. Then, he threw his arms up in celebration.
“It felt great,” McCoy said. “More than anything, just happy to be out there, happy to help the team get a big win. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to play a game, so there were a lot of jitters heading into the game.”
But those jitters were well behind him when, immediately after his touchdown catch, the freshman was among the Trojans sent to recover a desperation onside kick.
McCoy had never practiced onside coverage before. When freshman kicker
delivered a perfect attempt on his firstever try, McCoy thought he’d messed up his assignment.
“I thought I could attack the ball,” McCoy said. “I was kind of waiting for that big one up to jump up and go get it, but it stayed low. It kind of fell inside and I was staring at the ball the whole time.”
It wound up within arm’s reach, and McCoy clung to it tightly, until he felt a teammate pulling the ball out from behind him.
The unexpected recovery would set up the game-winning drive, on which McCoy caught two passes, before
the team’s leading receiver Saturday, capped the comeback.
For a receiver who’d waited years for that moment, it was hard to imagine a more picture-perfect debut.
“Bru’s had a wonderful camp and really felt confident in him going and playing today, and he made some big plays in the game including that touchdown,” USC coach
said. “You look at his five catches and 51 yards — we needed every yard today. And he was a part of that.”
Bru McCoy Kedon Slovis Amon-ra St. Brown, Parker Lewis Drake London, Clay Helton Early start