The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Two Longhorn Legends inducted into Texas High School Football Hall of Fame
05.07.2022 | Football
Defensive end Tony Brackens and quarterback Colt McCoy were inducted as part of the Class of 2022.
WACO, Texas – Longhorn Legends Tony Brackens (Fairfield High School) and Colt McCoy (Tuscola/Jim Ned High School) have been inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame as members of the class of 2022.
Brackens, an All-American defensive end at Texas from 1993-95, and McCoy, a National Player of the Year and record-setting quarterback from 2006-09, were formally recognized and inducted on Saturday night at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco.
An All-American and all-state defensive end at 3A Fairfield High School, Brackens was a two-way standout who also spent time at fullback and tight end on offense. He recorded 120 tackles and 18 sacks during his senior season and was a multi-sport star who won the state 3A shot put title that year. And to top it off, he was an honor student, played drums in his high school's marching band and competed in rodeo team roping competitions. Brackens was recently selected as a member of the University Interscholastic League All-Century team as well as being listed among the UIL's 100 greatest players of the first 100 years of Texas High School football by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.
At Texas, Brackens was a three-time first-team All-Southwest Conference selection from 1993-95, a consensus first-team All-American in 1995, and an honorable mention All-American in 1994. Best known for his combination of power, speed and strength to go with explosive pass rushing skills and extraordinary instincts, he was one of the most dominant and hardest-hitting Longhorns in recent memory. Brackens put all of those skills on display in posting 77 tackles, seven sacks, 16 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and 29 QB pressures in his final collegiate season of 1995. That year, UT won the last-ever SWC Championship, finished 10-2-1, ranked No. 14 nationally, and earned a Sugar Bowl bid. He had a team-high 90 tackles to go with seven sacks and 30 QB pressures in leading the Horns to an 8-4 record, a victory in the Sun Bowl, No. 25 ranking and a share of the SWC title as a sophomore in 1994. Texas was 18-6-1 in his final two seasons, won or shared both of those SWC titles and earned Top 25 rankings each year before Brackens declared early for the NFL Draft.
The Associated Press SWC Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 1993, Brackens posted 79 tackles and a career and team-high 10 sacks as a freshman. His 16 tackles for loss are still a UT freshman record, while his 10 sacks rank second on the UT all-time freshman list. The 79 tackles also rank among the top-10 freshman efforts on Longhorn record and his 59 solo tackles in 1993 are good for fourth-best among UT freshman. He had a career-best three sacks and was named the SWC Defensive Player of the Week after leading Texas to a 38-17 win over Baylor that year. His 24 career sacks in just three seasons still rank among the top 10 in UT history, while his 49 tackles for loss are currently 11th. Brackens had an impact off the field, as well, earning a spot on the 1995 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works team for his community involvement.
A second-round draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1996, Brackens was an NFL All-Rookie team selection that year and played the entirety of his eight-year NFL career in the Sunshine State. Still the Jaguars career leader with 55 sacks, 28 forced fumbles and 13 fumble recoveries, he was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl during the 1999 season before retiring from professional football in 2003. He played in 107 career games, starting 75, and had double-digit sack seasons in 1999 (12) and 2001 (11), including sacks in a franchise record eight consecutive games during the 2001 season.
Brackens was enshrined into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2006.
McCoy was a two-time Associated Press 2A Offensive MVP and first-team all-state selection at Jim Ned High School, where he posted a 34-2 record as a starting quarterback. The future Longhorn great finished his prep career as the all-time leading passer (9,344 yards and 116 TDs) in Texas 2A history and sixth overall in Texas high school history. He led his team to a 2A state championship game in football and also to the state tournament in basketball during his prep career.
A two-time winner of the prestigious Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) National Player of the Year award, consensus first-team All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist, McCoy is one of six Longhorns with his jersey number retired at Texas. In addition to those honors, McCoy claimed the Maxwell Award (nation's top player), AT&T Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Award (nation's top QB), Manning Award (nation's top QB) and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (nation's top QB) as a senior in 2009. He was also named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year by both The Associated Press and the league's coaches that year and earned that honor twice from The AP. McCoy earned bowl game offensive MVP honors three times in leading Texas to victories at the 2006 Alamo Bowl, 2007 Holiday Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl following the 2008 season.
A four-year starter with a 45-8 career record, he finished his career as the NCAA's all-time winningest quarterback and was the first QB in major college football history to lead a team to four 10-win seasons. He is also the first QB in Texas history to lead his team to consecutive 12-win seasons and just the second, joining Vince Young, to lead his team to consecutive 11-win seasons. A redshirt backup to Young on the 2005 National Championship team, McCoy led Texas to a 13-1 record and No. 2 ranking in 2009, a 12-1 mark and No. 3 ranking in 2008, and a pair of 10-3 records in 2006-07 with a No. 10 ranking in 2007 and No. 13 in 2006.
Statistically, McCoy finished his career with 47 school records including 16 career, 13 single-season, five single-game, six freshman and seven miscellaneous marks. During his 53-game career, he completed 1,157-of-1,645 passes (70.3 percent) for 13,253 yards and 112 TDs for a passer rating of 155.0. When his career concluded, his 13,253 passing yards were sixth on the NCAA all-time list, his 112 TD passes ranked seventh and his 70.3 career completion was just shy of the NCAA record. In addition, McCoy rushed for 1,571 yards and 20 TDs on 447 carries (3.5 ypc), while rushing and passing for a TD in the same game 14 times during his career. In combining his passing (112) and rushing (20) TDs, McCoy finished his career ranked sixth on the NCAA's touchdowns responsible for list and first at UT in that category with 132. He had scored at least one TD in 30 straight games entering the 2009 BCS National Championship Game. McCoy is UT's all-time leader in total offense and finished his career ranked fourth on the NCAA all-time list in that category, having produced 14,824 yards (13,253p/1,571r) on 2,092 plays (7.1 ypp).
In 14 games as a senior in 2009, the year he led Texas to a Big 12 title and the National Championship game, McCoy completed 332-of-470 (70.6 percent) for 3,521 yards and 27 TDs, 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. As a junior in 2008, he set UT single-season records for passing yards (3,859), passing TDs (34) and total offense (4,420). With the addition of his 11 rushing TDs, he also set the UT single-season record for most TDs responsible for with 45 that year. McCoy was the Sporting News National Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2006 and set UT freshman records for victories by a QB (10) and TD passes (29).
Also a standout off the field, he received the 2009 Bobby Bowden Award (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and was a National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar-Athlete and three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection. He also was a member of the AFCA Good Works team for his community service efforts. He graduated in December, 2009 with a degree in sports management.
A third-round selection by the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 NFL Draft, McCoy just completed his 12th NFL season. That's second only to Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Bobby Layne's 15 NFL seasons for a Longhorn quarterback. Currently a member of the Arizona Cardinals, McCoy has also played for the Browns (2010-12), San Francisco 49ers (2013), Washington Redskins (2014-19) and New York Giants (2020). He has played in 52 career games with 33 starts and thrown for 7,195 yards and 33 TDs, while also rushing for 546 yards and two TDs.
McCoy was recently included on the ballot for the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and was enshrined in the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.