Colt Mccoy
Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986 in Hobbs, New Mexico[1]) is an American football player who is currently the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Texas at Austin and was drafted by Cleveland in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
McCoy was the starting quarterback from 2006-2009 and won the 2008 Walter Camp Award and was the 2008 Heisman Trophy runner-up.[2][3] McCoy won more games (45) than any quarterback in NCAA Division I history. In his senior year, he won 13 of the top 15 major college player awards including quarterback of the year, offensive player of the year and outstanding football player of the year.
After sitting out the 2005 Longhorn season as a redshirt, McCoy was the starting quarterback for the 2006 Longhorn team.[4][5] On November 4, 2006, McCoy threw his 27th touchdown pass in a win against Oklahoma State, to take sole possession of the Texas school record for most touchdowns ever thrown by a quarterback in a single season.[6] Subsequently, in the 2006 Alamo Bowl on December 30, McCoy threw two touchdowns against University of Iowa to tie Nevada's David Neill for second place for freshman touchdowns in a single season.[7] Also during the 2006 season, McCoy was named College Football News Big 12 Player of the Year and was named the quarterback to their "All Freshman Team".[8] Injuries caused him to miss portions of the final two regular season games, but was able to play for the entire duration of the Longhorns' bowl game.
Leading the 2007 Longhorns, McCoy was somewhat less consistent. Through the first five games he threw nine interceptions — two more than he threw in the entire 2006 season.[9] He went on to throw 18 interceptions during the 2007 season.
Leading the 2008 Texas Longhorn football team, McCoy and the Longhorns began the season with 8 straight wins, including a win over then #1 Oklahoma, #6 Oklahoma State and #11 Missouri. His performance helped the Longhorns rise at one point to the #1 ranking in the national polls,[10] although UT lost to Texas Tech University and finished ranked third in the BCS standings.[11] In 2008 McCoy set school records for most career touchdown passes,[12] most touchdown passes in a season,[13] most total touchdowns by a Texas player,[14] most career wins,[15] and most career passing yards.[15] In addition to setting passing records, McCoy led the team with 561 yards rushing and 11 rushing touchdowns, establishing a reputation as a dual threat quarterback.[16] McCoy was named the 2008 AP Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year
McCoy was born in Hobbs, New Mexico. He attended Jim Ned High School in Tuscola, Texas,[18] population 714,[1] where he was coached in football by his father Brad McCoy. He achieved several distinctions as a high school player, including two-time Associated Press 2A Offensive MVP and First-team All-state selection.[18] Over his career, he completed 536-of-849 passes (63.1%) for 9,344 yards and 116 TDs.[18] He ranks as the all-time leading passer in Texas Division 2A high school history and is fourth overall in Texas high school history.[19] McCoy also served as Jim Ned High School's punter as a junior and senior.[20] During his sophomore year, McCoy was also playing free safety. However, after he suffered a concussion on a tackle by 215-pound Bangs High School running back Jacoby Jones, his father decided not to let him play defense anymore. At the time Jim Ned was 8–0, but as McCoy missed the next two games due to the concussion, Jim Ned's season unraveled.[21] McCoy also played in the 2003 Texas 2A State Championship against the San Augustine Wolves. Jim Ned lost 28–7. While attending Jim Ned High School he also earned letters in track and basketball.
Following wins over Rice, Iowa State, and Sam Houston State, McCoy got his first win over a ranked team, as well as his first come-from-behind victory, when he threw two touchdowns, and led the Longhorns to defeat Oklahoma 28–10 in the Red River Shootout on October 7, 2006.[25] The two touchdowns by McCoy gave him 12 touchdown passes for the season, tied for third with Longhorn passer James Brown in the list of most touchdowns by a Texas freshman.[26]
On October 14, 2006 McCoy threw a Texas record six touchdown passes in the win against Baylor.[27][28] The previous record of five touchdown passes had been held by James Brown (set vs. Baylor in 1994) and Chris Simms (vs. Oklahoma State in 2001). On October 25, 2006, he was 9th in the nation with a quarterback rating of 165.4.
In the 2006 Oklahoma State game McCoy threw for his 27th passing touchdown of the season, giving him sole possession of the single-season Texas record and putting him two TD's shy of the NCAA single season record for freshman quarterbacks (29).[29] Coincidentally, this 27th pass was also for 27 yards.
During the November 11, 2006, game against Kansas State, McCoy suffered a stinger shoulder injury[30][31][32] while rushing for a touchdown against Kansas State.[33] The Longhorns lost in an upset to the Wildcats 45–42. There was speculation that Snead might be the starter for the final regular season game, because it was unknown whether McCoy would return for the Longhorns season closer against rival Texas A&M on November 24, 2006.[34][35][36] However, McCoy was cleared to play the game against the Aggies.[37]
McCoy prior to being taken off the field near the end of the Texas A&M gameWith 20 seconds remaining in the Lone Star Showdown versus the Aggies, McCoy was injured by a "vicious, stadium-hushing tackle"[38] as Aggie defensive end Michael Bennett connected with his helmet against McCoy's upper body after McCoy had thrown an incomplete pass.[39] Replays showed both on television and in the stadium revealed the hit might have included "helmet-to-helmet"[40] contact which is illegal in NCAA football only if done intentionally,[41] but no flag was thrown. When the replay was shown in the stadium, the Longhorn fans erupted in boos[42] before lapsing back into silence as McCoy lay on the ground writhing for ten minutes before being taken off the field on a cart.[43] After watching him getting carted off of the field, some Aggie fans on an Internet message forum have nicknamed him "Cart" McCoy.[44] Mack Brown said after the game "I didn't see it, but it sounded like 88,000 (fans) thought it was dirty."[39][42] Fellow Longhorn Selvin Young said he thought the hit was a clean "textbook" hit.[45]
McCoy in 2006McCoy was taken to Brackenridge Hospital where he spent more than three hours undergoing an evaluation that included an X-Ray, MRI, and a CAT scan.[39][46] Longhorns trainer Kenny Boyd said the injury was a severe pinched nerve in McCoy's neck.[39][46] Boyd said that McCoy was expected to make a full recovery, but no timetable was set for McCoy to return to play.[39][46] The injury to McCoy came one game-clock minute after an A&M player, #91 Kellen Heard had been ejected from the game for vicious blindside block on McCoy after he threw an interception, which was ruled excessive.[47][48][49] An X-Ray, MRI exam and CT scan showed "no structural damage to McCoy's neck or shoulder", said Dr. Carey Windler, the team's orthopedic surgeon.
On December 1, 2006, the Longhorns issued a statement confirming that back-up quarterback Jevan Snead had left the team and would transfer to an unspecified school;[50] this meant there would be no scholarship quarterback ready to play in the Longhorns' bowl game if McCoy was not ready. On December 21, 2006, Texas announced that McCoy was cleared to start in the Alamo Bowl for Texas on Saturday, December 30.[51] in the 2006 Alamo Bowl on December 30, McCoy threw two touchdowns against Iowa to tie the NCAA freshman record of 29 touchdown passes established by Nevada's David Neill in 1998. This record has since been broken by Oklahoma's Sam Bradford in the 2007 season.[52]
McCoy on the sidelines during the home loss to Kansas StateAfter just one season with Texas, McCoy received a lot of media attention, including appearing on some lists of the nation's top players of 2007. In June 2007, McCoy appeared on the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football alongside Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee and TCU defensive end Tommy Blake. Additionally, Rivals.com named McCoy one of the top-10 quarterbacks going into the 2007 season.[53] He also made the Athlon Sports first-team All Big 12.[54]
On June 26, 2007, Maxwell Football Club president Ron Jaworski announced that McCoy had been named to the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award. The initial list includes 64 players. The winner turned out to be Tim Tebow.[55] In their 2007 season preview magazine, CBS Sportsline.com listed McCoy as one of 12 players on the “Heisman Watch”; saying “We were touting him for the Heisman midway through his freshman season until he was injured against Kansas State. Older and stronger, McCoy has an awesome receiving corps to make a run at the hardware for real.”[56][56] He is also one of the 35 quarterbacks placed on the 2007 Manning Award watch list.[57] Further, the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List added McCoy on August 21, 2007.[58]
McCoy led the Longhorns, who were ranked number four in the pre-season Associated Press Poll[59] and Coaches Poll,[60] to a 21–13 victory over unranked Arkansas State in the season opener. McCoy threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions.[61] He also made two quick-kick punts when the Longhorns lined up as if they were attempting to convert on fourth down. He averaged thirty yards per kick and both kicks were downed inside the opponent's twenty yard-line.[20] In the second game, McCoy led the Longhorns to a 34–13 victory over #19-ranked TCU.[62]
The road opener was the first game ever played in the new home stadium of the UCF Knights. McCoy's 47 passing attempts tied a Texas single-game record. His 32 completions set a new school record, besting the 30 completed by Vince Young during the 2006 Rose Bowl and by Major Applewhite during two 1999 games.[63] The final non-conference game was against Rice, and McCoy completed 20 of his 29 passing attempts, accumulating 333 yards through the air.[64] For the first time in the season, he did not throw an interception.[65] McCoy and most of the Longhorn starting players were replaced by backups after the first drive of the second half.[64][66] True freshman quarterback John Chiles made his first college appearance in the first quarter. He came onto the field beside McCoy and then McCoy trotted out to a slot receiver position. Chiles never looked to pass; he ran up the middle for no gain. He came out of the game after that play and came back in the third quarter as McCoy's replacement. On that drive, Chiles line up in the zone-read offense and led the Longhorns 80 yards to a touchdown, carrying the ball 4 times for 49 yards.[67] Chiles' strong performance immediately led to media speculation as to how much playing time he will take from McCoy.[65][68]
McCoy played the worst game of his career in an upset loss to the Kansas State Wildcats; He threw for 200 yards and had four interceptions.[69][70] He also suffered a concussion during the game and left the field just prior to the end of the first half and again prior to the end of the game.[70] After that game, Sports Illustrated selected him as one of the season's 10 "Most Disappointing College Players" and noted that he his nine interceptions thrown so far in 2007 were already two more than he threw in the entire 2006 season.[9] Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated listed several factors contributing to the Longhorns struggles. He cited the off-field problems as evidence that no Texas player has been able to show the superior leadership skills of Vince Young. Mandel said that McCoy, still only a sophomore, had not been able to completely fill that gap and that McCoy's play had not been as good as during 2006. He also said part of the blame is to be placed on an offensive line that lost several starters and has not been able to consistently protect McCoy. Finally, he noted that the running game had been "equally inconsistent."[71] It was the worst home-field loss in Mack Brown's time with Texas. For the Wildcats, the win over Texas was the first road victory over a top–ten team in school history.[72]
McCoy and back-up quarterback John Chiles at the Red River ShootoutMcCoy and the Longhorns lost again the following week, in the 2007 Red River Shootout. The game was a back-and-forth affair that was ultimately won by Oklahoma 28–21. OU's freshman quarterback, Sam Bradford, was 21–of–32 for 244 yards and 3 touchdowns. McCoy was 19–of–26 for 324 yards and two touchdowns. McCoy threw one interception.[73] McCoy played the game with his throwing arm bandaged from mid-forearm to biceps. He held up physically despite taking four sacks[74] and a blind-side late hit after one play had been whistled dead.[73][75][76] With the loss, Texas opened conference play 0–2 for the first time since 1956, when they were in the Southwest Conference and one year before Darrell Royal became head coach of the Longhorns.[73][77]
The Longhorns were in control of the Iowa State game almost from the very beginning and they routed the Cyclones 56–3, the worst loss for the Cyclones since 1997.[78][79] Lined up in the spread offense on the first play from scrimmage,[80] Colt McCoy scrambled away from a blitz and threw a pass to Jordan Shipley for a 58 yard touchdown.[81] The offensive line provided great protection for Colt McCoy,[79] who called most of the plays without huddling and directed the Longhorns to touchdowns on his first five series.[82] He completed 23 of 30 passes for 298 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions.[82] His most athletic play came early in the third quarter when he evaded three defenders on a play from the Cyclones' 20-yardline. He twisted around and managed to stay upright long enough to throw a pass to Nate Jones in the end zone. He capped off his performance by making his first rushing touchdown of the season,[78] a career-long, 44 yard run in the third quarter. The play was designed to be a screen pass to the fullback. Mack Brown said, "Colt was as good today as I've ever seen him."[81] Brown also praised McCoy for taking on more of a leadership role with the team.[83] The Austin American-Statesman said, "Colt McCoy is shedding his sophomore slump. In the past two games, he is 42 of 56 passing for 622 yards with six passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and just one interception. That translates to a quarterback rating of 200.1."[80] However, against Baylor on October 20, Colt would go on to throw 2 interceptions and 1 touchdown, and against Nebraska the following week, McCoy completed less than 50% of his passes and threw another interception. On the day after Thanksgiving, McCoy was 17 of 32 with 1 interception, while be sacked 4 times in the 38-30 loss to Texas A&M. At the conclusion of the 2007 regular season, Mccoy had thrown for 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
In the 2007 Holiday Bowl, McCoy led the Longhorns to a 52–34 victory and won the offensive-player MVP award.[84]
McCoy rose in the record books during the first four games of the season. On August 30, 2008 McCoy passed for 222 yards and rushed for 103 yards against FAU, becoming the 2nd player in UT history to pass for 200 and rush for 100 yards in more than one game; the other being Vince Young. On September 20 Colt McCoy surpassed the Texas All-Time record for the most passing TD's with 62 while beating Rice 52–10. The record was previously held by Major Applewhite.[12] Through the first four games of 2008, McCoy completed 80% of his passes and had a quarterback rating of 209.71.[86]
Colt McCoy about to throw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Chris Ogbonnaya in the win over Colorado.The Longhorns opened conference play against the Colorado Buffaloes and UT won 38–14. McCoy threw for two touchdowns and moved past Ricky Williams into second on Texas' all-time list for touchdowns responsible for (passing, rushing, receiving). McCoy at that point had 77, while Williams had 76 with the Horns.[87] UT continued conference play by defeating #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the 2008 Texas vs. Oklahoma football game. McCoy was 28 for 35 for 277 yards and one touchdown,[88] bringing Texas to the position of the #1 in the AP poll for the first time since 1984. (passing Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, and LSU.)
On October 18, against Missouri, McCoy completed the game with 337 yards on 29-of-32 passing with two touchdowns, rushed for two more and at one point completed a school-record 17 passes in a row. His completion ratio of 79% coming into the game improved as he completed 91% of his passes in this game. His four touchdowns put him alone in first place for the most career touchdowns scored at Texas (82), passing Vince Young (81).[14]
McCoy throws a pass against Baylor.UT lost to Texas Tech with one second remaining in the game. McCoy gave a good performance but came up short as his Red Raider counterpart, Graham Harrell had an outstanding day. Following that loss, UT fell to #4 in the BCS rankings. They climbed to #3 the following week as the Horns beat Baylor and former #3 Penn State lost. The win over Baylor was the 829th win for the UT football program, which tied Notre Dame for 2nd in the list of college football's ten most victorious programs.[89]
McCoy led the Longhorns to a 35–7 road victory over the Kansas, ensuring their eighth consecutive season with ten or more wins per season. That is the longest active streak in the nation and it ties them with Miami (1985–92) for the second-longest streak of all-time. It was Colt McCoy's 30th career win, which tied him with Vince Young for the school record.[13] McCoy completed 24 of 35 passing attempts (71%) for 255 yards and 2 touchdown passes. He was also the leading rusher for both schools, rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown.[90] McCoy's two touchdown passes put him at 31 for the season, breaking his own school record.[13]
McCoy had another great performance against in-state rival Texas A&M in the final game of the regular season. This is the longest running rivalry both schools and the biggest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry occurred when Texas beat A&M 48–0 in 1898.[15] McCoy and the Longhorns nearly equaled that record this year by producing a 49–9 victory, the second-largest margin of victory for this rivalry series.
The win was the 31st for Colt McCoy, setting a new school record.[15] McCoy rushed for 2 touchdowns and threw for 2 more. He completed 23 of 28 attempted passes (82%) for a total of 311 yards. That yardage put him at 3,594 yards for the season - another school record.[15] His longest pass of the evening, 68 yarder on a post route to Jordan Shipley late in the third quarter, ended up a yard short of being McCoy’s fifth touchdown of the evening.
On January 5, 2009, McCoy led the Longhorns to 24–21 victory over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. McCoy completed 41-of-59 passes for 414 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He was named the Offensive Player of the Game for his performance.[91]
In his final season, McCoy led the Texas Longhorns to a perfect 12–0 regular season record, as well as a 13-12 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers to win the Big 12 Championship in Cowboys Stadium.[92] McCoy suffered a shoulder injury during the 2010 BCS National Championship Game against Alabama in the first quarter. McCoy was replaced by true freshman Garrett Gilbert. McCoy received x-rays for his shoulder in the Rose Bowl's medical facilities immediately following his injury in the 1st quarter. Rose Bowl medical staff reported that the x-rays were negative and determined he suffered no serious injury to his throwing arm besides a light sprain.[93] After receiving x-rays, he consulted with his father who along with doctors advised McCoy that he should not re-enter the BCS title game.[94] In post game interviews McCoy said he could not feel his throwing arm and that it felt dead.That the coaching staff told him not to return to the game.[95]By Wikapedia
McCoy was the starting quarterback from 2006-2009 and won the 2008 Walter Camp Award and was the 2008 Heisman Trophy runner-up.[2][3] McCoy won more games (45) than any quarterback in NCAA Division I history. In his senior year, he won 13 of the top 15 major college player awards including quarterback of the year, offensive player of the year and outstanding football player of the year.
After sitting out the 2005 Longhorn season as a redshirt, McCoy was the starting quarterback for the 2006 Longhorn team.[4][5] On November 4, 2006, McCoy threw his 27th touchdown pass in a win against Oklahoma State, to take sole possession of the Texas school record for most touchdowns ever thrown by a quarterback in a single season.[6] Subsequently, in the 2006 Alamo Bowl on December 30, McCoy threw two touchdowns against University of Iowa to tie Nevada's David Neill for second place for freshman touchdowns in a single season.[7] Also during the 2006 season, McCoy was named College Football News Big 12 Player of the Year and was named the quarterback to their "All Freshman Team".[8] Injuries caused him to miss portions of the final two regular season games, but was able to play for the entire duration of the Longhorns' bowl game.
Leading the 2007 Longhorns, McCoy was somewhat less consistent. Through the first five games he threw nine interceptions — two more than he threw in the entire 2006 season.[9] He went on to throw 18 interceptions during the 2007 season.
Leading the 2008 Texas Longhorn football team, McCoy and the Longhorns began the season with 8 straight wins, including a win over then #1 Oklahoma, #6 Oklahoma State and #11 Missouri. His performance helped the Longhorns rise at one point to the #1 ranking in the national polls,[10] although UT lost to Texas Tech University and finished ranked third in the BCS standings.[11] In 2008 McCoy set school records for most career touchdown passes,[12] most touchdown passes in a season,[13] most total touchdowns by a Texas player,[14] most career wins,[15] and most career passing yards.[15] In addition to setting passing records, McCoy led the team with 561 yards rushing and 11 rushing touchdowns, establishing a reputation as a dual threat quarterback.[16] McCoy was named the 2008 AP Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year
McCoy was born in Hobbs, New Mexico. He attended Jim Ned High School in Tuscola, Texas,[18] population 714,[1] where he was coached in football by his father Brad McCoy. He achieved several distinctions as a high school player, including two-time Associated Press 2A Offensive MVP and First-team All-state selection.[18] Over his career, he completed 536-of-849 passes (63.1%) for 9,344 yards and 116 TDs.[18] He ranks as the all-time leading passer in Texas Division 2A high school history and is fourth overall in Texas high school history.[19] McCoy also served as Jim Ned High School's punter as a junior and senior.[20] During his sophomore year, McCoy was also playing free safety. However, after he suffered a concussion on a tackle by 215-pound Bangs High School running back Jacoby Jones, his father decided not to let him play defense anymore. At the time Jim Ned was 8–0, but as McCoy missed the next two games due to the concussion, Jim Ned's season unraveled.[21] McCoy also played in the 2003 Texas 2A State Championship against the San Augustine Wolves. Jim Ned lost 28–7. While attending Jim Ned High School he also earned letters in track and basketball.
[edit] College career
[edit] 2005 season
As a freshman, he was given a redshirt year so he did not play during the team's 2005 national championship season. He served as the quarterback for the scout team in practice against the starting defense. During this time, he was officially listed as the number three quarterback behind Vince Young and Matt Nordgren. Instead of Colt, Brown chose to play Matt Nordgren[22] in four separate game situations where Texas had a commanding lead. This led to confusion on the parts of many sportscasters, as they would mistakenly refer to Nordgren as Matt McCoy whenever Matt would enter a game since Colt was third on the depth chart.[23] With Young forgoing his senior year to enter the NFL, and with Nordgren graduating, the position of starting quarterback for the defending National Champion Texas Longhorns fell to Colt McCoy for the 2006 football season after he won the job over true freshman Jevan Snead.[24][edit] 2006 season
2006 season was the year for Colt McCoy as he finally became the starter for the University of Texas.In the season opener on September 2, 2006, he led the Longhorns to a 56–7 victory over North Texas, throwing three touchdown passes, rushing one yard for a touchdown, and throwing no interceptions. He was 12-19 in passing, and ran for 27 yards to help set up a touchdown. During the game, McCoy threw a 60 yard touchdown pass on only his second pass as a college quarterback. He was the first Texas freshman quarterback to start and win a season-opening game since Bobby Layne in 1944.[1] The next week, the Longhorns faced #1 Ohio State at home. McCoy went 19-32, 156 yards, one TD, and one INT while rushing four times for a total of eight yards. Ohio State defeated the Longhorns 24–7, ending the Longhorns 21-game winning streak.
Following wins over Rice, Iowa State, and Sam Houston State, McCoy got his first win over a ranked team, as well as his first come-from-behind victory, when he threw two touchdowns, and led the Longhorns to defeat Oklahoma 28–10 in the Red River Shootout on October 7, 2006.[25] The two touchdowns by McCoy gave him 12 touchdown passes for the season, tied for third with Longhorn passer James Brown in the list of most touchdowns by a Texas freshman.[26]
On October 14, 2006 McCoy threw a Texas record six touchdown passes in the win against Baylor.[27][28] The previous record of five touchdown passes had been held by James Brown (set vs. Baylor in 1994) and Chris Simms (vs. Oklahoma State in 2001). On October 25, 2006, he was 9th in the nation with a quarterback rating of 165.4.
In the 2006 Oklahoma State game McCoy threw for his 27th passing touchdown of the season, giving him sole possession of the single-season Texas record and putting him two TD's shy of the NCAA single season record for freshman quarterbacks (29).[29] Coincidentally, this 27th pass was also for 27 yards.
During the November 11, 2006, game against Kansas State, McCoy suffered a stinger shoulder injury[30][31][32] while rushing for a touchdown against Kansas State.[33] The Longhorns lost in an upset to the Wildcats 45–42. There was speculation that Snead might be the starter for the final regular season game, because it was unknown whether McCoy would return for the Longhorns season closer against rival Texas A&M on November 24, 2006.[34][35][36] However, McCoy was cleared to play the game against the Aggies.[37]
On December 1, 2006, the Longhorns issued a statement confirming that back-up quarterback Jevan Snead had left the team and would transfer to an unspecified school;[50] this meant there would be no scholarship quarterback ready to play in the Longhorns' bowl game if McCoy was not ready. On December 21, 2006, Texas announced that McCoy was cleared to start in the Alamo Bowl for Texas on Saturday, December 30.[51] in the 2006 Alamo Bowl on December 30, McCoy threw two touchdowns against Iowa to tie the NCAA freshman record of 29 touchdown passes established by Nevada's David Neill in 1998. This record has since been broken by Oklahoma's Sam Bradford in the 2007 season.[52]
[edit] 2007 season
On June 26, 2007, Maxwell Football Club president Ron Jaworski announced that McCoy had been named to the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award. The initial list includes 64 players. The winner turned out to be Tim Tebow.[55] In their 2007 season preview magazine, CBS Sportsline.com listed McCoy as one of 12 players on the “Heisman Watch”; saying “We were touting him for the Heisman midway through his freshman season until he was injured against Kansas State. Older and stronger, McCoy has an awesome receiving corps to make a run at the hardware for real.”[56][56] He is also one of the 35 quarterbacks placed on the 2007 Manning Award watch list.[57] Further, the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List added McCoy on August 21, 2007.[58]
McCoy led the Longhorns, who were ranked number four in the pre-season Associated Press Poll[59] and Coaches Poll,[60] to a 21–13 victory over unranked Arkansas State in the season opener. McCoy threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions.[61] He also made two quick-kick punts when the Longhorns lined up as if they were attempting to convert on fourth down. He averaged thirty yards per kick and both kicks were downed inside the opponent's twenty yard-line.[20] In the second game, McCoy led the Longhorns to a 34–13 victory over #19-ranked TCU.[62]
The road opener was the first game ever played in the new home stadium of the UCF Knights. McCoy's 47 passing attempts tied a Texas single-game record. His 32 completions set a new school record, besting the 30 completed by Vince Young during the 2006 Rose Bowl and by Major Applewhite during two 1999 games.[63] The final non-conference game was against Rice, and McCoy completed 20 of his 29 passing attempts, accumulating 333 yards through the air.[64] For the first time in the season, he did not throw an interception.[65] McCoy and most of the Longhorn starting players were replaced by backups after the first drive of the second half.[64][66] True freshman quarterback John Chiles made his first college appearance in the first quarter. He came onto the field beside McCoy and then McCoy trotted out to a slot receiver position. Chiles never looked to pass; he ran up the middle for no gain. He came out of the game after that play and came back in the third quarter as McCoy's replacement. On that drive, Chiles line up in the zone-read offense and led the Longhorns 80 yards to a touchdown, carrying the ball 4 times for 49 yards.[67] Chiles' strong performance immediately led to media speculation as to how much playing time he will take from McCoy.[65][68]
McCoy played the worst game of his career in an upset loss to the Kansas State Wildcats; He threw for 200 yards and had four interceptions.[69][70] He also suffered a concussion during the game and left the field just prior to the end of the first half and again prior to the end of the game.[70] After that game, Sports Illustrated selected him as one of the season's 10 "Most Disappointing College Players" and noted that he his nine interceptions thrown so far in 2007 were already two more than he threw in the entire 2006 season.[9] Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated listed several factors contributing to the Longhorns struggles. He cited the off-field problems as evidence that no Texas player has been able to show the superior leadership skills of Vince Young. Mandel said that McCoy, still only a sophomore, had not been able to completely fill that gap and that McCoy's play had not been as good as during 2006. He also said part of the blame is to be placed on an offensive line that lost several starters and has not been able to consistently protect McCoy. Finally, he noted that the running game had been "equally inconsistent."[71] It was the worst home-field loss in Mack Brown's time with Texas. For the Wildcats, the win over Texas was the first road victory over a top–ten team in school history.[72]
The Longhorns were in control of the Iowa State game almost from the very beginning and they routed the Cyclones 56–3, the worst loss for the Cyclones since 1997.[78][79] Lined up in the spread offense on the first play from scrimmage,[80] Colt McCoy scrambled away from a blitz and threw a pass to Jordan Shipley for a 58 yard touchdown.[81] The offensive line provided great protection for Colt McCoy,[79] who called most of the plays without huddling and directed the Longhorns to touchdowns on his first five series.[82] He completed 23 of 30 passes for 298 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions.[82] His most athletic play came early in the third quarter when he evaded three defenders on a play from the Cyclones' 20-yardline. He twisted around and managed to stay upright long enough to throw a pass to Nate Jones in the end zone. He capped off his performance by making his first rushing touchdown of the season,[78] a career-long, 44 yard run in the third quarter. The play was designed to be a screen pass to the fullback. Mack Brown said, "Colt was as good today as I've ever seen him."[81] Brown also praised McCoy for taking on more of a leadership role with the team.[83] The Austin American-Statesman said, "Colt McCoy is shedding his sophomore slump. In the past two games, he is 42 of 56 passing for 622 yards with six passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and just one interception. That translates to a quarterback rating of 200.1."[80] However, against Baylor on October 20, Colt would go on to throw 2 interceptions and 1 touchdown, and against Nebraska the following week, McCoy completed less than 50% of his passes and threw another interception. On the day after Thanksgiving, McCoy was 17 of 32 with 1 interception, while be sacked 4 times in the 38-30 loss to Texas A&M. At the conclusion of the 2007 regular season, Mccoy had thrown for 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
In the 2007 Holiday Bowl, McCoy led the Longhorns to a 52–34 victory and won the offensive-player MVP award.[84]
[edit] 2008 season
On January 2, 2008 UT running back Jamaal Charles decided to forgo his senior season with Texas in favor of joining the NFL as a professional football player in the 2008 NFL Draft. With Charles' departure, McCoy became the leading returning rusher for the 2008 Longhorns.[85]McCoy rose in the record books during the first four games of the season. On August 30, 2008 McCoy passed for 222 yards and rushed for 103 yards against FAU, becoming the 2nd player in UT history to pass for 200 and rush for 100 yards in more than one game; the other being Vince Young. On September 20 Colt McCoy surpassed the Texas All-Time record for the most passing TD's with 62 while beating Rice 52–10. The record was previously held by Major Applewhite.[12] Through the first four games of 2008, McCoy completed 80% of his passes and had a quarterback rating of 209.71.[86]
On October 18, against Missouri, McCoy completed the game with 337 yards on 29-of-32 passing with two touchdowns, rushed for two more and at one point completed a school-record 17 passes in a row. His completion ratio of 79% coming into the game improved as he completed 91% of his passes in this game. His four touchdowns put him alone in first place for the most career touchdowns scored at Texas (82), passing Vince Young (81).[14]
McCoy led the Longhorns to a 35–7 road victory over the Kansas, ensuring their eighth consecutive season with ten or more wins per season. That is the longest active streak in the nation and it ties them with Miami (1985–92) for the second-longest streak of all-time. It was Colt McCoy's 30th career win, which tied him with Vince Young for the school record.[13] McCoy completed 24 of 35 passing attempts (71%) for 255 yards and 2 touchdown passes. He was also the leading rusher for both schools, rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown.[90] McCoy's two touchdown passes put him at 31 for the season, breaking his own school record.[13]
McCoy had another great performance against in-state rival Texas A&M in the final game of the regular season. This is the longest running rivalry both schools and the biggest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry occurred when Texas beat A&M 48–0 in 1898.[15] McCoy and the Longhorns nearly equaled that record this year by producing a 49–9 victory, the second-largest margin of victory for this rivalry series.
The win was the 31st for Colt McCoy, setting a new school record.[15] McCoy rushed for 2 touchdowns and threw for 2 more. He completed 23 of 28 attempted passes (82%) for a total of 311 yards. That yardage put him at 3,594 yards for the season - another school record.[15] His longest pass of the evening, 68 yarder on a post route to Jordan Shipley late in the third quarter, ended up a yard short of being McCoy’s fifth touchdown of the evening.
On January 5, 2009, McCoy led the Longhorns to 24–21 victory over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. McCoy completed 41-of-59 passes for 414 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He was named the Offensive Player of the Game for his performance.[91]
[edit] 2009 season
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In his final season, McCoy led the Texas Longhorns to a perfect 12–0 regular season record, as well as a 13-12 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers to win the Big 12 Championship in Cowboys Stadium.[92] McCoy suffered a shoulder injury during the 2010 BCS National Championship Game against Alabama in the first quarter. McCoy was replaced by true freshman Garrett Gilbert. McCoy received x-rays for his shoulder in the Rose Bowl's medical facilities immediately following his injury in the 1st quarter. Rose Bowl medical staff reported that the x-rays were negative and determined he suffered no serious injury to his throwing arm besides a light sprain.[93] After receiving x-rays, he consulted with his father who along with doctors advised McCoy that he should not re-enter the BCS title game.[94] In post game interviews McCoy said he could not feel his throwing arm and that it felt dead.That the coaching staff told him not to return to the game.[95]By Wikapedia
