AUSTIN — One of the greatest players in University of Texas football history has announced his retirement.
Former Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and multiple All-American, announced his retirement from the NFL after 14 seasons on Monday morning.
The news comes as NBC Sports announced that McCoy will join the broadcasting giant as a commentator for Big Ten football coverage. McCoy’s first assignment will be as commentator for the Colorado vs. Nebraska game on September 7 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, where he will work alongside Paul Burmeister (play-by-play) and Katherine Tappen (sideline reporter).
McCoy was one of six Texas football players to have his jersey number retired, and he left Austin as one of the most decorated players in franchise history.
As a senior in 2009, McCoy won numerous awards, including the Maxwell Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, the Manning Award, the Johnny Unitas Award, and the Walter Camp Award. In 2008, he finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting (behind Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford) and in 2009, he finished third (behind Alabama’s Mark Ingram and Stanford’s Toby Gerhart).
McCoy was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 85th overall pick in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. In 14 seasons with five different teams, McCoy threw for 7,795 yards, 34 touchdowns and 32 interceptions while completing 62.6 percent of his passes.
McCoy redshirted as a freshman in 2005, the year Texas won its last national championship. As a redshirt freshman in 2006, he was named the starter after beating out Jevan Snead in a training camp competition. McCoy went 45-8 as a starter from 2006-09 and never relinquished the role.
Under McCoy’s guidance as a redshirt senior in 2009, the Longhorns went 12-0 in the regular season before defeating Nebraska, 13-12, in the Big 12 title game and advancing to the 2010 BCS national championship game.
In the BCS title game against Alabama, McCoy injured his right shoulder on Texas’ first drive and was sidelined for the remainder of the game, and backup Garrett Gilbert completed just 15 of 40 attempts for 186 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions as the Longhorns lost to the Crimson Tide, 37–21.
When McCoy left the team after the 2009 season, he held the NCAA record for most wins in a career with 45, a mark that was broken in 2011 by Boise State’s Kellen Moore, who finished his career with 50 wins.
