One Man Yelp: Growing Up Colt
You might ask why Colt McCoy wrote a book. You might ask why Colt McCoy was leading offseason practices. You might even ask why Colt McCoy is the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback
McCoy understands. The 2010 third round pick doesn’t mind stepping out and trying to be a leader, even if it means exposing himself. That’s one of the messages I got from reading Growing Up Colt, which the QB co-wrote with his father Brady McCoy and author Mike Yorkey.
Usually, leadership follows accomplishment. In McCoy’s case, the cart is in front of the Colt.
Colt McCoy does not act like a young quarterback.
McCoy understands that he’s only started eight NFL games, and that he hasn’t even established himself as a pro quarterback yet. But with Jake Delhomme in limbo all offseason (he was cut last week), there was no one else to take over. McCoy told me he tries to lead by being a servant, giving everything he has and being the same person in every situation.
And he doesn’t apologize for trying to lead a franchise that hasn’t had very effective leadership for a long time. “We needed to get work done as a team,” he said. “You look across the league. It’s pretty much on the quarterbacks, so I assumed that role. I know where we’re headed as an organization and team. But it’s not solely focused on me. I have to commend my teammates—tight ends, receivers, running backs, and those guys who have been willing to fly around the country and come together and work out and train and study. I feel I have a good grasp on offense in what we’re trying to do in the West Coast because I did that in college. I have a pretty good idea of it. I’m able to teach and coach a little bit even though I’m still a rookie. It’s time to grow up and play.”
This is a player who, when he got to camp for his sophomore season at Texas, told coach Mack Brown, “I’m going to be your quarterback, and I’m going to lead us to the national championship.” This is a player who, when he was in seventh grade, gave up all soft drinks on the advice of a nutritionist. This is a young man, who, when he was in high school, decided he wanted to be in bed every night by 9:30. And this is a person who started committing regular hours to charity work when he was in grade school.
McCoy is not your typical 24-year old.
Some teams didn’t have a player like McCoy step up. McCoy believes the Browns will benefit from their offseason work, but he wouldn’t go so far as to say they’ll be winning games they otherwise would not have won. “We needed the work as opposed to some other teams,” he said. “We have a new defensive system, new coaches on defense, new system on offense, new coaches there, so we need the work. It was important to do some things this summer and work and go over the things we had. We accomplished that.”
The offense being installed by new Browns coach Pat Shurmur is similar to the offense he operated at Texas under Brown. “I’m comfortable with it,” McCoy said. “It plays to my strengths a little more than what we were trying to do last year. It’s the West Coast, what I ran in college. Getting the ball out of your hands, having the ability to make a play, sometimes you get out of the pocket a little. Those are things I feel comfortable with and they are part of my game, so I’m excited about it.”
McCoy has the intangibles part down. If he can deliver physically, he might make it an interesting season in Cleveland.
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFP-Sunday-Blitz-2233.html
