The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
McCoy selected 85th overall by Cleveland Browns
04.23.2010 | Football
April 23, 2010
What they're saying: Colt McCoy
Texas QB Colt McCoy was selected 85th overall by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft on Friday. To make the night that much more special, Mack Brown arrived in New York in time to announce the pick with McCoy in Austin watching on television. It was the first time in draft history a head coach has announced the pick of one of his players.
McCoy is the third Longhorns QB drafted in the Mack Brown era, joining Vince Young (2006) and Chris Simms (2003). That equals in the history of the program prior to Brown (Rick McIvor, 1984; Bobby Layne and Paul Campbell, 1948).
"It was awesome," McCoy said. "My heart skipped a beat, but I was so thankful to hear from coach Holmgren and all the people in Cleveland. I can't be more excited. He said, 'We want you to be a Cleveland Brown,' and I said, 'You won't regret it, and we're going to win a lot of games.'
He was chosen back-to-back with WR Jordan Shipley for the second back-to-back Longhorns tandem of the night after DE/LB Sergio Kindle and DT Lamarr Houston went 43rd and 44th overall in the second round.
In 2007, S Michael Griffin and CB Aaron Ross went back-to-back in the first round at picks 19 and 20. Five pairs of Longhorns have now been chosen back-to-back since 1982 with the others being OT Mike Williams and CB Quentin Jammer, the fourth and fifth overall selections in 2002, and DE Shane Dronett and DT James Patton, the 54th and 55th overall selections in the second round in 1992.
"The most obvious thing is he's the winningest quarterback in the history of college football and the most accurate, and we really think that says everything," Brown said. "He's confident. He's a great leader. The ball never hit the ground in practice. We got so spoiled that we changed our offense because of him and because of what he does. He's a very positive force with the other kids. He was so confident his last two years that he was not only an impact at quarterback but also on our special teams and our defense."
McCoy becomes the first Longhorn drafted by the Browns since RB Eric Metcalf in 1989 and the 13th overall.
"He certainly is a strong character person," offensive coordinator Greg Davis said. "I think that will translate very easily into the same kind of young man into pro football. His intangibles are off the charts from the way he conducts himself off the football field to the way he prepares himself in the classroom. He's as strong a leader as we have ever had here and as I've ever been around, and we've been around some great ones. He has a burning desire, a passion if you will, to be the best that he can be. That translates not only to the best football player he can be, but also the best son he can be, the best student he can be, the best father at some point in his life. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll be an outstanding professional."
McCoy was the fifth Longhorn taken in the draft, giving Texas at least five selections for the fourth time in the last five years. Mack Brown has now coached 60 NFL draft picks over the last 13 years and 47 of them have been chosen in the first four rounds.
This season, McCoy won the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Player of the Year Award, Maxwell Award (nation's top player), AT&T Player of the Year Award, Davey O'Brien Award (nation's top QB), Manning Award (nation's top QB) and Unitas Golden Arm Award (nation's top senior QB). He is a unanimous All-America selection, a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and the Wooden Cup (nation's top athlete/community), and was also named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year by both The Associated Press and league's coaches.
"The biggest question for us in recruiting was not whether Colt was good enough or whether he could win enough or was he talented enough, it was whether he would be confident enough to make then jump from Tuscola and Jim Ned High School to The University of Texas with all the media and the pressure where our guys are treated more like an NFL team," Brown said. "Not only did he do that, he did it at a very young age following Vince Young. He was always very positive about Vince, he did not ever compare himself to Vince, doesn't today, but he made his own name and he made his own mark, not only at The University of Texas, but within our state and nationally when it comes to being a football player and a very good role model for kids and all of us off the field."
In 14 games this year, McCoy went 332-of-470 (70.6%) for 3,521 yards and 27 TDs for a 147.4 passer rating, while rushing for another 348 yards and three TDs. His 70.6 completion percentage led the nation. McCoy's 147.4 pass efficiency rating ranked 16th and he averaged 26.6 yards per TD pass on his 27 scoring throws.
"We feel like Greg (Davis) is the best teacher of quarterbacks in college football," Brown said. "A lot of Greg's background, his studies, his preparation, has been with NFL teams. So we feel like that number one, our guys are prepared for the NFL because we run an NFL system, but our offensive staff has been so smart to tweak it towards the quarterback and feature what he does best, but our plays, our numbering system, our thoughts, our teaching are all NFL thoughts and obviously to have Chris Simms, Vince Young and now Colt McCoy, all three pro quarterbacks, at a school who traditionally does not do well with pro quarterbacks, has to be a great compliment not only to Greg's evaluation, but his teaching."
McCoy became the all-time winningest quarterback in NCAA history when he won his 43rd game as a starter against Kansas. He ended with a 45-8 record, bettering David Greene's (Georgia) mark of 42 victories. He is the first QB in major college football history to lead a team to four 10-win seasons and is also is the first QB in Texas history to lead his team to consecutive 12-win seasons and just the second Longhorn, joining Vince Young, to lead his team to consecutive 11-win seasons.
McCoy holds 47 school records including 16 career, 13 single-season, five single-game, six freshman and seven miscellaneous marks. During his 53-game career, McCoy completed 1,157-of-1,645 passes (70.3%) for 13,253 yards and 112 TDs (45 INTs) for a passer rating of 155.0. His 13,253 yards are sixth on the NCAA all-time list, his 112 TD passes are seventh and his 70.3 career completion percentage is just shy of the NCAA record of 70.4 percent, which is held by Colt Brennan (Hawaii).
His 1,157 completions, 1,645 attempts, 70.3 completion percentage, 13,253 yards, 112 TDs and 155.0 passer rating rank first on UT's all-time list and he is the first Longhorn to pass for more than 10,000 yards. He is one of just five QBs in NCAA history to pass for at least 2,500 yards in four seasons.
In addition, McCoy has rushed for 1,571 yards and 20 TDs on 447 carries (3.5 ypc) and has rushed and passed for a TD in the same game 14 times during his career. In combining his passing (112) and rushing (20) TDs, McCoy ranks sixth on the NCAA list and first on UT's TD responsible for list with 132. He had scored at least one TD in 30 straight games entering the BCS National Championship Game. McCoy is UT's all-time leader in total offense and ranks fourth on the NCAA all-time list, having produced 14,824 yards (13,253p/1,571r) on 2,092 plays (7.1 ypp).