Why Colt McCoy Will Succeed In The NFL

In 2005, rivals.yahoo.com rated Colt McCoy as the 15^th best quarterback prospect in the country and the 73^rd best prospect in his home state of Texas. He received a lowly three-star rating and not much was expected of him in his impending tenure at the University of Texas.

Yeah. . . about that.

After being redshirted for his initial year, McCoy took over the starting job the next season as a freshman. There was immediate success as McCoy tied David Neill’s record for touchdown passes thrown by a freshman at 29. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford later broke this record.

McCoy would only get better, setting numerous school records. In 2008, he set the all-time NCAA completion percentage record with a mark of 77.6 percent during his junior season.

The native Texan also holds the record for the most ever wins by a starting quarterback with 45 and is the only such player to win at least 10 games during all four of his seasons in college.

McCoy’s collegiate career was supposed to end in glory, leading his team to a National Championship, but one play changed all that. 

In the first quarter of the game against Alabama, McCoy’s shoulder was injured and he was forced out of the game to be replaced by freshman Garrett Gilbert. It was difficult to watch the hapless Longhorns wallow through the game as their star sat on the bench and in the locker room.

The interview afterwards with McCoy was painful. You could tell that his inability to play and complete his dream was killing him.

Then came the NFL draft and concerns over McCoy’s size and injury history were brought up. The quarterback fell to the Cleveland Browns in the third round with the 84^th pick.

Since then, Mike Holmgren, the Browns’ president, has said that McCoy will most likely not play during his rookie season.

Now reading back through everything above, you may not think that McCoy has the ability to succeed in the highest level of professional football. But if you thought that, you’d be wrong.

Throughout his football career, McCoy has defied the odds. He was not a highly touted prospect yet he and his roommate Jordan Shipley amassed the most wins by a quarterback-receiver pair ever.

People claimed that his arm wasn’t strong enough to play successfully yet he proved them wrong by making up for his lack of power with his pinpoint accuracy.

It’s true that he played in a system where the running game was essentially short passing, but a single season completion percentage of 77.6 percent and a career mark of 70.2 percent is fantastic.

Accuracy in the NFL is necessary. The defenders are bigger, faster, stronger, and better than they were at the college level and thus it is vital to be able to hit your targets. McCoy has shown us that he can do that.

Also, the lack of size shouldn’t concern too many people. Drew Brees is shorter and lighter than McCoy yet he still turned out to be fairly decent.

Colt McCoy is also a very intelligent and well-spoken young man. In fact he was named a National Scholar Athlete in 2009. This intelligence should serve him well in the ranks of the pros when he’s asked to learn a new system.

Next, for any player, the situation into which they were drafted is extraordinarily important. McCoy was drafted to a team that has not done well in the past, yet this will end up serving him well as the expectations should not be as high initially.

Because the Browns have two veteran quarterbacks ahead of McCoy on the depth chart, one would think that his career would suffer at least slightly. Yet the two veterans are not the greatest players in the league and they will eventually cede the way to McCoy.

In the meantime however, they, along with Holmgren, will serve as great mentors to the rookie. Holmgren is widely known as a quarterback specialist while Jake Delhomme has the ability to teach McCoy the mental side of the game. Don’t forget that Delhomme was once a Pro Bowl quarterback even if he hasn’t looked the part lately.

Seneca Wallace can also help improve McCoy’s scrambling ability. Both older quarterbacks should be willing to help the likeable youngster.

Two of a quarterback’s best friends are a great running game and a great offensive line. The Browns have both.

Last season the Browns had the eighth ranked ground attack and it should only continue to improve with the services of Jerome Harrison, Peyton Hillis, and Montario Hardesty.  Also, the offensive line is bolstered with the young talent of Joe Thomas, Alex Mack, and Shawn Lauvao.

Finally, Colt has proven time and time again that he has the intangibles necessary to win. He is a marketable young player, he is well liked and respected, and he has all the passion in the world for football. 

In the words of Jon Gruden, a quarterback guru and collector during his time as an NFL head coach, “To me, Colt is Drew Brees on the field and Drew Brees off the field. But he’s about two and half inches taller and he’s faster.”

There’s no reason he can’t succeed if the Browns are patient with him and give him a chance to succeed.

I look forward to watching him pile up the wins and awards like he did in college.