McCoy looking to set QB record for wins
November 18, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)—Colt McCoy left the tiny town of Tuscola with dreams ofbeing Texas’ next great quarterback. Lingering below the self-confidence werewords that stung his heart.
Too small. Too slow. Weak arm.
Those were his friends saying that.
Great small-town player, they said, but Texas and the Big 12 were places forthe big boys, not a player from the lower divisions of high school.
“I had people in my town, friends of mine, people real close to me sayingthat I would never be able to play here,” McCoy said. “They see a guy likeVince Young or Ryan Perrilloux. Everybody thought I was awesome in high schoolbut that’s just from our town.
“I definitely used that as motivation,” McCoy said. “I still do to thisday.”
Five years later and McCoy is on the verge of an NCAA record victory.
If Texas (10-0, 6-0 Big 12) beats Kansas (5-5, 1-5) on Saturday night, McCoywill set the record for most career victories by a starting quarterback. Hecurrently shares the mark of 42 with Georgia’s David Greene (2001-04).
McCoy is 42-7 in his career, but few outside coach Mack Brown’s office evensaw him as a potential starter when he first signed with the Longhorns in 2005.
Perrilloux was the hotshot recruit that year and Texas fans were bitterlydisappointed when he spurned the Longhorns at the last minute for LSU.
“Some people have said we really didn’t want him as much as we wanted Ryan.That’s not true,” Brown said. “We thought he was really good. The recruitinglists missed it. Not Texas. Not Colt.”
McCoy watched from the scout team as Young led Texas to the 2005 nationalchampionship. By next spring, it was more of the same. Texas signed Jevan Snead,who was supposed to be bigger, stronger and better.
McCoy was the quarterback Texas fans didn’t want.
“Jevan comes in … given the role, basically,” McCoy said. “I had tofight everybody.”
With a season of practice under his belt, he nudged aside Snead in trainingcamp and started the 2006 season opener against North Texas. His second pass wasa 60-yard touchdown.
“That kind of set the tone for a lot of good things that happened,” McCoysaid.
It didn’t silence his doubters.
A 24-7 home loss to No. 1 Ohio State a week later reminded everyone thatMcCoy wasn’t Young. To Texas fans, Young was Superman, relegating McCoy to ClarkKent.
The Longhorns still had a lot of senior talent left from the nationalchampionship team, including several offensive linemen he had to face in thehuddle every day. Brown jokes that he started using a no-huddle offense to keepMcCoy from getting rattled by his own teammates.
“I couldn’t even speak the plays sometimes,” McCoy said. “One of thehardest things was getting your teammates to believe in you. I was trying to letthem know, ‘Hey, I’m going to take over after Vince Young.”’
When the trust came, the wins started rolling in.
Texas was 10-3 McCoy’s freshman year. Snead, realizing he might not ever getto play, transferred to Mississippi.
Texas went 10-3 again in 2007. In 2008, the Longhorns were 12-1, McCoy wasrunner-up for the Heisman Trophy and Texas beat Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl tofinish the season ranked No. 3.
McCoy set an NCAA record for pass completion rate (76.7 percent) and ledTexas to its first regular-season No. 1 ranking since 1984. Privately, heflirted with the option of heading off to the NFL, but chose to stay in collegeto chase a national championship.
Perrilloux, the 2004 national high school player of the year everyonewanted, never worked out as LSU. A part-time player when the Tigers won the 2007national championship, he was later suspended and is now at lower divisionJacksonville State in Alabama.
He recently told Sports Illustrated, “I almost went to Texas, and maybe mylife would have turned out differently if I had.”
Snead is 16-7 at Ole Miss. He was an early dark horse candidate for theHeisman Trophy but quickly faded.
“I know how hard it was to get to this point,” McCoy said. “A lot oftimes guys are just given it to them because they got a lot of publicity. Itmakes it that much more special to me.”
McCoy has set 45 school passing records at Texas, including yards (12,360)and touchdowns (104).
Yet he has a gaping hole on his resume: He hasn’t won a championship of anykind. Texas hasn’t even won the Big 12 South with McCoy, which the Longhorns cando if they beat Kansas, their first division title since 2005 with Young.
“That’s the goal of a quarterback,” McCoy said, “to win.”
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