McCoy back to familiar role: student

By Nate Ulrich

Akron Beacon Journal

On Jan. 8, 2006, some doubt crept into the minds of Greg Davis and his fellow football coaches at the University of Texas.

Star quarterback Vince Young had just announced he would leave their program as a junior and enter the NFL draft. Four days earlier, Young led the Longhorns to their first national championship since 1970.

Fortunately for Texas, though, Colt McCoy was prepared to become its new leader, even if he was the only one who knew it at the time.

“The day that Vince Young declared that he was gonna come out early, Colt called me,” said Davis, the Longhorns’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. “And he said, ‘Coach, I’ll be ready, and I’ll be the best you’ve ever coached.’”

Yes, it was a bold statement from a young man who redshirted his freshman season and hadn’t taken a snap as a college quarterback. But McCoy, who’s now a rookie with the Browns, fulfilled his promise.

He won an NCAA record 45 games. A runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2008, McCoy also led the Longhorns to three bowl victories and at least 10 wins in each of his four seasons, finishing his career with 47 school records.

Last season, he helped Texas reach the BCS championship game, in which it lost 37-21 toAlabama. McCoy suffered a pinched nerve in his right shoulder during the first quarter and never returned.

It was a bitter end to an illustrious college career, one that might never have fully developed if it weren’t for McCoy’s willingness to pay close attention while he sat and watched Young. After compiling a record of 34-2 as a starting quarterback at Jim Ned High School in Tuscola, Texas, McCoy curbed his competitive appetite long enough to learn the intricacies of Texas’ offense during his redshirt year.

As McCoy’s new team begins its first full-squad practice of training camp today in Berea, he’s in student mode again. In the eyes of Browns brass, the fewer snaps McCoy takes during his rookie season, the better. Ideally, 2010 will be his time to be patient and study.

“It’s a challenge [waiting to play], but at the same time I’ve got a lot to learn,” said McCoy.

“I’m learning every day, and I think I’ll be a learner the rest of my career. That’s what’s gonna make you be the best, and ultimately that’s what I want to become.

“Right now, I know my role is to be the leader of my rookie class, and their expectations of me are to come in and learn and do my best. When it’s time, it’s time. So that’s kind of the mindset that I have.”

In March the Browns signed quarterback Jake Delhomme, 35, to a two-year contract after the Panthers released him. The Browns also traded a 2011 draft pick to the Seahawks in exchange for Seneca Wallace, 29.

Hence, the plan for McCoy’s rookie season.

“Things could change, but I don’t expect him to play this year,” Browns president Mike Holmgren said a day after McCoy was selected in the third round (85th overall) of this year’s draft. “We did not draft him, necessarily, to come in and play this year.

“The best thing that might be able to happen to him is that he just sits, watches, learns and makes the transition into the pro game. That’s my expectation level for him.”