Tennessee Senior Day 2009: Rico McCoy

Before we get to our last senior spotlight, here's a look at the other names you'll hear called on Saturday:

• TE Jeff Cottam ends his Tennessee career with 7 catches, 2 for touchdowns going into Saturday's game.  Played together with his brother Brad in 2007.
• CB Marsalous Johnson saw duty in UT's nickel and mustang packages over the last three seasons, finishing with one sack and one interception.
• DT Andre Mathis saw spot duty at a variety of positions in the defensive front in his four years, seemingly never finding the right fit.  He has 9 career tackles going into Saturday.
• Others include DB Derrick Furlow, the snapper/holder combination of Morgan Cox and Bram Cannon, and walk ons Johnny Harrison, Steven Hensley and Sean White.  Austin Rogers is applying for a sixth year of eligibility, so I'm not sure if he's running Saturday or not.

Our last spotlight senior has been that one that's contributed the most over the course of all four of his seasons in Knoxville, a four year starter at linebacker... 

Rico McCoy

McCoy was a freshman All-American in 2006, picking up the start late in the season and leading the team in tackles as a freshman against Vanderbilt.  He was a second team All-SEC selection in 2007, with 106 tackles on the year, sixth best in the conference.  He played tremendously well in the 2007 SEC Championship Game, with 8 tackles and a forced fumble.  In 2007 & 2008 he had seven double digit tackle games.

This season, McCoy has continued the tradition of fast, hard-hitting Tennessee linebackers, leading the defense with four forced fumbles.  He set a career high with 16 tackles in the Auburn game, and now has ten double digit tackle games for his career after getting 12 at Alabama and 10 more against South Carolina.  His 84 tackles this year are currently good for fourth best in the SEC, which will again make Rico a candidate for all-conference honors, and give him a chance in the NFL Draft.

My personal favorite Rico McCoy moment?