USC's Former 5-Star WR Bru McCoy out for Season

USC receiver Bru McCoy will not play during the 2019 season.  

"Right now, Bru is not going to play this year," head coach Clay Helton said Tuesday, per Chris Trevino of 247Sports. "He's doing a great job academically, doing a great job in strength and conditioning. He'll be ready for spring." 

The true freshman battled an unspecified illness and eligibility issues earlier this year, and that kept him off the field. It is now apparent he will go the entire year without appearing in a game before returning as a redshirt freshman in 2020.

McCoy was considered the top athlete in the country and the No. 9 overall player in the 2019 recruiting class, per 247Sports. 

He initially committed to USC and enrolled in school last January but transferred to Texas before switching back in June.

While he was set to compete for playing time, McCoy then suffered a mysterious illness that kept him off the field. According to his father, even doctors were stumped about the cause of the problem.

"They cannot figure it out," Horace McCoy said in August, per Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times. "I cannot tell you how many specialists we've got him in front of, just to try to figure this damn thing out."

The issue has been enough to keep him off the field throughout the season. But fortunately, he will return by the spring.

Even with McCoy unavailable, USC does have plenty of depth at the position. Michael Pittman Jr., Tyler Vaughns and Amon-Ra St. Brown all have at least 40 catches and 400 receiving yards on the season despite playing without injured starting quarterback JT Daniels.

Still, McCoy will be valuable next year and beyond with a lot of young talent already on the roster.