Colt McCoy recalls when he fell in love with Texas football

For former Texas Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy, landing at the Austin-based institution wasn’t always written in the stars. Growing up in rural West Texas, the legendary Longhorn signal-caller appeared to be destined to land at another Texas university. However, that all changed with one trip.

During a recent appearance on the McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning Show, McCoy revealed when he truly fell in love with the program, pinpointing the exact moment when he knew he was destined to wear the burnt orange and white.

“My mom and dad both went to Abilene Christian University, so my childhood memories were like going back to their alma mater in Abilene and watching those football games,” opened McCoy. “Texas was the flagship school. I mean, there’s no doubt; every kid wants to go play at UT.

“I didn’t grow up in Austin. I grew up on a farm in West Texas, and my moment was [when] I got invited to go to a one-day camp at UT — went to camp and kind of got my name in the mix. When I got in the car with my dad he drove back to where I grew up, I looked at my dad was like, ‘dad I don’t know if I can ever play here. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to play here. But if I do, of all the schools I’ve ever seen… this is it.’”

And how did McCoy’s father take his revelation? According to the legendary Longhorns quarterback, with a grain of salt.

 “My dad just kind of chuckled like, yeah, buddy, good luck. I hope one day you’ll be able to do that. Like, Abilene Christian is looking good for you. And sure enough, it happened.”

As McCoy continued, he noted that his father’s skepticism was more based on the odds than on whether or not his son had the skill and capability to play at the University of Texas one day. The Longhorns have often been revered as the flagship university and football program of the state. Because of that, they typically get their choice of top-tier talent during each recruiting class.

It was good for Texas and McCoy that former head coach Mack Brown saw something in him to make him believe he could be the program’s future signal caller. McCoy went on to have an illustrious career at Texas, which included a plethora of trophies and awards, and he etched his name in the program’s history books.