AMAZING STORY
Colt McCoy: Growing Up Colt
By Shawn Brown
The 700 Club
CBN.com -Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy is making a name for himself in the NFL, but in college at the University of Texas, his statistics on the field are unprecedented. Within four seasons he won 45 games, more than any other quarterback in NCAA Division I history. But in his last game as a Longhorn, the 2010 BCS national championship, he suffered a shoulder injury that could have crushed his NFL future.
“Fifth play of the game, I get hit the right way and I’m done. And to sit from the sidelines as a cheerleader, which was all I was at that point, you know, watch them walk through that and lose that game, and just the heartache from that, man, I was tore up.”
Daniel “Colt” McCoy grew up in a Christian home with his two younger brothers in Tuscola, TX. He became a Christian himself when he was 14 years old.
“My parents really did a good job when I was growing up with me and my brothers of having us in church all the time. It was just one of those things where I started getting convicted over the summer and was reading my Bible a lot and really studying. And that’s about the time where I was really starting to grow into myself and mature a little bit. And I just really felt like that was the time. That was really the time where I was like man, you know what, this is real, God is real. Heaven is for real. And I want to be on board. And that’s when I really made the decision to follow Christ.”
Colt played basketball and baseball as boy, but he didn’t play football until he was in 7th grade. In high school his father was his head coach. He says it was an enormous challenge for him.
“It was hard playing for my dad, it was hard to separate my dad as a coach and my dad as a dad. I had to work twice as hard as anybody else just to earn a job.”
Colt did not become a starter in high school until his sophomore year. In three seasons, Colt became the all time leading passer in Texas Division 2A. In 2005, he was recruited by the University of Texas. During the 2006 season Colt broke the school record for most touchdowns thrown in a single season. Fast forward to the 2010 NFL Draft. Because of Colt’s shoulder injury during the BCS Championship game, Colt wasn’t selected in the 1st or 2nd round.
“By this time in the draft I’m thinking man, just give me an opportunity. You know, I don’t care if I’m a free agent. Just give me an opportunity to go play, that’s all I want.”
In the 3rd round, Colt got the call from the Cleveland Browns. By the end of the 2010 NFL season, Colt was named the starting quarterback. Recently, Colt released a book with his father Brad McCoy entitled, Growing Up Colt, where they share about Colt’s journey to the NFL. Now in his second season he says whatever happens he’s ready to be the leader God has called him to be.
“I want to do the same thing that I did and have the same attitude that I had when I came to Austin. I just want to be the light. That’s it, you know. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. The number one thing in my life is Jesus Christ. And without Him, I am nothing. Without Him, I have accomplished nothing. And I want everyone to know that, and to know that you can have the same gift, the same opportunity, it’s free. God’s grace is free. He sent His son to this earth to die on the cross for our sins and gives us that grace, that hope of knowing that someday, when I pass this earth, I’ll have the opportunity to live with Him for eternity.”
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