Colt McCoy – Quarterback for the Texas Longhorns

How much better of a start could Colt McCoy have had to the season?

His team won, 52-10, and he completed 24 of 29 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns.

He was also the leading rusher with 103 yards on 12 carries and another TD.

Florida Atlantic University players also delivered three late hits on McCoy, but they didn't seem to phase him. The Owls liked to talk tough before the game, but looks like they don't know how to play tough within the rules.

Oh, and just for good measure, McCoy also punted once for 44 yards.

I think the look of confidence on Colt's face (Harry Cabluck's photo from the Associated Press) says it all.

Posted by Abilene Admin at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Don't know about you, but in the "11th Hour" I'm getting a little concerned about Florida Athletic University.

They're flying really low under the radar as everyone prepares for the big jersey retirement ceremony tomorrow in Austin.

The Owls are the reigning Sun Belt Conference champions and they also won their post-season game (New Orleans Bowl) last year.

They have a bunch of returning starters, many of whom are underclassmen and are just experienced enough to be cocky and dangerous when faced with an opponent who is a prohibitive favorite. Confidence is easy to come by for that type of athlete.

There will be a bunch of Longhorns - including Colt McCoy (Associated Press photo)- who will be glad to see Vince Young again, so there might be a little pre-game focus problem.

And since Mack Brown is going to be bouncing a few McCoy/Chiles new wrinkles off the Owls, I expect the game to be closer than most people think.

Still a "W" for the 'Horns, and a very good challenge for the mind, body and spirit.

ALSO: Here is what McCoy said about chemistry with his young receivers earlier in the week.

"It's really important. You can't get enough work with each other. Obviously, Jordan (Shipley) and Quan (Cosby) are doing great and I know where they're going to be (great). We've played together for two or three years, so I'm not worried about them at all. Blaine (Irby) is doing a great job at tight end. He is doing a good job getting open and singling up linebackers, but having that third guy is extremely important - a guy that can get off the line man-to-man that you can trust down field blocking when the back breaks free, who is going to throw a potential touchdown scoring block and all those things the coaches look for, and most importantly catching the ball. That's the biggest one. So they've had a great camp. They all do a lot of things really well. It's just a matter of what they are going to do when there are 100,000 people in the bleachers, so we'll see the first game."

Posted by Abilene Admin at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One thing that's in Colt McCoy's favor going into the 2008 season is that the national spotlight isn't shining so brightly on him.

Oh, make no mistake ... the Burnt Orange Nation kliegs are all trained on him, but the rest of the country won't be as interested. After his freshman year, Colt was on all the watch lists. As a sophomore honing his skills and learning to take chances, he matured a lot, but he also threw 18 INTs.

So, the national sports pundits were distracted by other shiny objects and are now looking elsewhere in the Big 12 to bestow their QB crown.

And what a royal court it is!

Chase Daniel, the Heisman finalist from Missouri last season, is the odds-on favorite this year to ring up obscene numbers and be crowned king, but who's that over his shoulder? Tech's Graham Harrell has been dubbed "QB in Waiting" by many pre-season "experts," but I suspect he'll rack up higher statistics than Daniel.

And Colt is fifth on many people's list of Big 12 quarterbacks - behind OU's Sam Bradford and Todd Reesing of Kansas.

The pressure to "prove himself" to his teammates, coaches and fans is always on a player who is the leader or "go-to" player on that team. That's a good pressure, and Colt thrives on it.

The pressure to finish first in an auxiliary - as it were - quarterback race is the type of pressure that detracts from team success and individual growth.

It'll be a lot of fun to watch all those gunslingers in the Big 12 this season. Some of them will not live up to last year's potential and some of them will surpass what they did in 2007.

Look for Colt to be part of that second group.

Posted by Abilene Admin at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Got my Sports Illustrated today. Rankings time again.

A third of their Top 15 are from the Big 12, and this year's order might surprise you:

No. 4 - Missouri
No. 6 - Oklahoma
No. 8 - Texas Tech (my alma mater)
No. 13 - Texas
No. 15 - Kansas

Heckuva season to try to win more than 10 games. In fact, SI has the 'Horns finishing the regular season at 9-3 (same as last year), and my Red Raiders as possibly winning the South.

I've always thought it would come down to the Texas/Texas Tech game in Lubbock to decide this season's South Division champ. SI believes it will be an OU/Tech shootout for that coveted prize.

Those five teams above have a lot in common, but one of the most obvious common denominators is they all have really good quarterbacks: Chase Daniel at Missouri; Sam Bradford at OU; Graham Harrell at Tech; Colt McCoy at Texas; and Todd Reesing (out of Lake Travis in Austin) at Kansas.

Whoever sits atop the Big 12 QB statistics list at the end of the season will no doubt be a strong candidate for the Heisman. Colt has always been up for a good challenge, and posting numbers ahead of those other four guys will be the biggest hurdle he's faced to date.

I still like his chances, especially if the Longhorns' defense can come through for Coach Muschamp, the team's fourth defensive coordinator in as many years.

Also, Mack Brown is finally heeding my advice from last year to get John Chiles more involved in the offense. I believe that will increase Colt's chances of success, both passing and running.

Think double-barreled shotgun with a semi-spread offense.

I'd rank that high in my college wish-list of things to see.

Posted by Abilene Admin at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you've checked out Jim Vertuno's story about 10 wins not being enough for Colt McCoy and the Longhorns (see "Colt in the News" link at top), you know that 10 wins is the same as saying 3 losses.

If you remember, back in late December, I brought up the same subject ...

"A third-straight 10-3 season won't satisfy a lot of UT fans or players ... So, here's my early prediction: The Longhorns - behind an even stronger and more mature McCoy - will go 13-1 in 2008, winning all THREE of their efforts on the big stages (throw in the Big 12 championship game) and losing only to the Red Raiders in Lubbock."

Colt will see a number of excellent quarterbacks on opposing teams this season, and that fact alone makes a 13-victory prediction very shaky.

However, it's not just the added physical maturity that is inherent in a third season, but it's the mental toughness. I haven't seen a game Colt has played that he hasn't thought he could win. Most of his losses have been close and could've gone either way.

And that brings us to reading between the lines: It has to go one way early this upcoming season (onto the "W" column) or Mack Brown will make changes quickly. The 5th and 6th games of the year (at Colorado and then against Oklahoma) will be pivotal.

Back-to-back wins there will cement Colt into the driver's seat and go a long way toward making my crazy 13-win prediction a reality. I'm sure not many people think I know what I'm talking about.

At least I know where I'll be on Nov. 1 - in Lubbock watching one of the best games of the year.

Posted by Abilene Admin at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)