Colt McCoy – Quarterback for the Texas Longhorns

Got my Sporting News College Football Preview magazine yesterday.

Yep, that's right. Colt McCoy was on the cover - along with OU's Sam Bradford and Florida's Tim Tebow. Pretty nice cover (even though it was 'shopped), but I don't have a digital version to share with you. You'll have to settle for this photo collage (at right) from last season.

Each of the three QBs had two pages devoted to him, which included their own byline story.
Colt talks about last spring when he had to go to class "incognito" so he wouldn't get stopped so much (but he doesn't mind).

Colt also mentions why he came back for his senior year, and the bottom line is he likes playing college football. He said it feels "a little different this year, maybe a little bit more intense than in the past."

The mantra for the Longhorns this season is "Let's raise it another level," Colt writes. They know what 12-1 feels like. The next step, of course, would be what 14-0 feels like.

I liked what new Texas wideout and former QB competitor, John Chiles, said about Colt: "The thing I'm always mosts impressed with is how he handles the spotlight ... Most importantly, he's still the same guy I first met on my recruiting trip."

That's the quality that's put Colt on the top of everyone's pre-season list for all the awards, of course, but it's also what makes him such a nice guy.

GREAT COMPANY: I don't remember seeing a Sporting News that mentioned so many former Abilene area football players. Colt, of course, played high school ball for Jim Ned in Tuscola, and then:

-- Abilene Wylie's Case Keenum, now at Houston, expected to be a conference MVP and lead the Cougars to a BCS bowl. He had over 5,200 yards of total offense in 2008 and 51 TDs. My wife, editor of Wylie Weekly, is hoping to start a "Keenum's Korner" in the publication during the season.

-- Former Abliene High Eagle Taylor Potts is expected to follow in Graham Harrell's footsteps at Texas Tech. In fact, the Sporting News says he will do just that and lead the nation in passing yardage. Glad he's finally getting a chance to show his stuff.

-- Jevan Snead, one of the state's top prep QBs while playing at Stephenville, is also expected to bring Ole Miss back to glory in 2009. Longhorn fans will remember him, of course, for coming into the Kansas State game in 2006 when Colt suffered a stinger and only falling 3 points short (45-42) of bringing his team a victory after trailing by three touchdowns. He headed for Mississippi in 2007.

Posted by Abilene Admin at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did you get your ESPN Magazine this past weekend?

I did. Our man was on the cover, of course.

Sports Illustrated has already given the Heisman Trophy to Colt McCoy this season. The Associated Press thinks he has a good shot at that nifty statuette, and I, for one, am not going to say much about it ... after today, that is.

There is an "I" in Heisman, but there is no "I" in team - and the latter is what will concern Colt in this season of new challenges.

I'm not so sure the Heisman is so much about team leadership and other values anymore as it is gaudy numbers. Numbers are great, and good things usually follow them, but they aren't the complete gauge of an individual.

Colt and Florida's Tim Tebow put their teams on their shoulders last year and over-achieved - as individuals and as members of a team. That guy who won the trophy had more help on the field than they did, but his team under-achieved when it counted.

The Heisman Trophy race is a huge distraction. Just ask former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell, who followed the big UT upset last season with a debacle on the road once his Heisman stock went up.

Since Bradford and Tebow already have a trophy, it would be nice for Colt to finally have one, but again ... Heisman winners, for the most part, haven't fared well in the pros. So, who needs that, right?

Regardless of who wins the trophy this season, Colt has developed all the skills and muscle to hold his own in the NFL. Anyway, the AP already is talking about the Heisman chances this season of others - quarterback Daryll Clark of Penn State, OSU's big wide receiver Dez Bryant and a tailback out of California named Jahvid Best.

So, that's my annual pre-season Heisman rant.

I'm not going to pay too much attention to it after this, and I'm sure Colt won't, either.

Posted by Abilene Admin at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was just talking with Abilene Reporter-News sports editor Greg Jaklewicz at lunch today and he told me a great story about quarterback coach Greg Davis and his assessment of Colt McCoy over the years - how when he first saw him he'd just had his tonsils out and was a 170-pound high school quarterback.

Since that time, of course, our favorite candidate for this year's Heisman Trophy has added 40 pounds of muscle.

I'd tell you more about it, but Greg (Jaklewicz, not Davis) will have his own blog soon and I don't want to "steal" his thunder.

Posted by Abilene Admin at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)