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Position: Quarterback
Height: 6'2" Weight: 215 lbs
College: Texas
Drafted: Third Round Pick 85th Overall
Colt McCoy will be in his second season with the Washington Redskins after leading the team to a 20-17 overtime win against the Dallas Cowboys last season and being put on IR due to a neck injury. He has re-signed with the team and he wants to avoid a sophomore slump. Here is what you need to know about him:
#1. Colt McCoy hails from Hobbs, New Mexico and went to Jim Ned High School. He was a three-star recruit from the class of 2005, the ninth best pro-style quarterback and 33rd best player in the state of Texas. He received offers from Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Missouri, Purdue and Texas A&M but chose to play his college football with the Texas Longhorns.
#2. He redshirted his freshman season (2005). In his redshirt freshman season (2006), he showed the NCAA what he was made of. He started all 13 games and registered these numbers: 217-of-318 passes (68.2%) for 2,570 yards (8.1 yards per attempt), 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Here are some of the accolades he received that year:
- Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist
- Sporting News' National Freshman of the Year
- Touchdown Club of Columbus' National Freshman of the Year
- Twice named the Cingular All-America Player of the Week
- Named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year by the league's coaches
- Associated Press Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year
As a sophomore (2007), he started all 13 games and earned Offensive MVP honors in the Holiday Bowl vs Arizona State with a 184 passing yard and one touchdown performance in addition to running the ball 16 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. He was a first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection, named to the Big 12 Good Works team, the Longhorns' George "Hook" McCullough co-MVP and UT's Outstanding Quarterback. He completed 276-of-424 passes (65.1%) for 3,303 yards (7.8 yards per attempt), 22 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
His 3,303 passing yards and 22 touchdowns put him at No.4 and No.6 respectively on the team's single season list. He also had 3,795 yards of total offense which was 22nd in the NCAA and third on Texas single season list.
In his junior year (2008), he started all 13 games, was a consensus All-America selection and Walter Camp Player of the Year award winner. He received Chevrolet NCAA Offensive Player of the Year, Archie Griffin Award winner (Touchdown Club of Columbus) and Sporting News Co-Player of the Year. He lost out to Sam Bradford for the Heisman Trophy by just 122 points (1,726 to 1,604.
Here are his other accolades that season
- First-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, SI.com and the Walter Camp Football Foundation
- Named second-team All-American by The Associated Press
- Maxwell Award winner
- Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award and the Manning Award winner
- Named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year by The Associated Press, Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, San Antonio Express-News and Waco Tribune-Herald
- Member of the 2008 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
- Named the Davey O'Brien Quarterback of the Week three times
In his final season at Texas (2009), he started 14 games and had these numbers: 332-for-470 (70.6%), 3,521 yards (7.5 yards per attempt), 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. As a result of that he won the Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year award again, the Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (nation's top senior quarterback) and Manning Award for the nation's top quarterback overall.
He was a unanimous first-team All-America selection, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Campbell Trophy which recognizes all-around excellence on the field, in the classroom and in society. Lastly, he received the Wooden Cup and the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. After his time at Texas came to a close, McCoy's No.12 jersey was retired on October, 30, 2010 and he had the most wins in NCAA history (45) to eight losses.
#3. Colt McCoy's sports hero is none other than three-time Super Bowl champion and NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. With McCoy being from Texas, that comes as no surprise. His favorite actor is Denzel Washington and his favorite TV shows to watch are SportsCenter and Seinfeld.
#4. McCoy was drafted in the third round by the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 NFL draft, spending three years with the team before being traded to the San Francisco in April 2013. He came to the Washington Redskins in 2014 and started four of five games. He led the Redskins in a 20-17 overtime victory against the Dallas Cowboys and threw for almost 300 yards in that game.
#5. It makes sense for the Washington Redskins to have three quarterbacks when final cuts for the 53 man roster come around and he is a guy who the team should keep. Despite only starting four games last year, he could be a suitable backup option to go to because he's been in the league a while and Kirk Cousins hasn't proven he can be effective as a starter; only as a backup.
Bottom Line: Colt McCoy is a viable option as a backup quarterback for the Redskins and has shown he can come in off the bench and perform. I look forward to seeing whether he or Kirk Cousins will get the second QB spot on the depth chart this season. I say give it to McCoy.