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Colt McCoy, the University of Texas Longhorns’ quarterback, is having an unbelievable fall.
 McCoy’s statistics for the ’08 season, so far, are beyond impressive. The 6’3”, 210-pound junior has thrown for over 3,000 yards, with 30 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions, while completing 77 percent of his passes. In addition, he is the Longhorns’ leading rusher with over 500 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Given those stats, McCoy will likely earn a coveted invitation to New York City next month, to the Heisman presentation. The Heisman Trophy is awarded to college football’s most outstanding player, and this year’s recipient will be selected by 925 electors composed of media personnel, former winners of the bronze statue, and one fan ballot.
McCoy has already earned the favor of one elector who is in the unique position of being able to vote for him and compete against him. That would be Tim Tebow, the University of Florida Gators’ quarterback, who won last year’s Heisman, and who is having another outstanding season.
Tebow, a product of a faith-based homeschool, who has made a big impression with his off-the-field pursuits (like traveling to the Philippines to minister to orphans and visiting with Florida inmates), had this to say about McCoy: “I think he represents college football and his faith extremely well, too, which I really respect as well.”
Indeed, McCoy, a devout Christian, isn’t shy about publicly crediting the good Lord with his abilities. Like Tebow, he walks the walk.
For starters, McCoy spent one spring break as a missionary in Peru. He does landscaping and delivers “Meals on Wheels” for retired citizens, visits with young patients at the Austin Children’s Hospital, serves as a tutor to underprivileged students, and still makes time to be an honor roll student. If that isn’t enough, Colt is also a real-life hero. The Dallas Morning News reported that two years ago Colt and his dad, Brad (who is also his former high school football coach), helped rescue seizure victim Ken Herrington from drowning in a lake.
No wonder Tebow is so impressed.
The positive publicity McCoy has been generating for his team and sport is a much needed shot in the arm. In 2007, six Longhorn football players were arrested, some charged with driving while intoxicated. Buck Burnette, an offensive lineman for Texas, was dismissed from the team this month after making a racial slur against president-elect Barack Obama on Facebook, the social networking site. Such unfortunate incidents play into hard-to-dispel stereotypes about athletes being either louts or lawless, or both.
And that’s not to say past Heisman winners all grow up to be exemplary citizens. Matt Leinart, the brilliant University of Southern California quarterback, who won the award in 2004, has been a disappointment. Famous for fathering a child with a former girlfriend who has complained that Leinart was too busy partying to spend any quality time with his young son, he has also been a bust in the NFL as quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, being demoted to back-up behind veteran Kurt Warner. Warner, another athlete known for his religious beliefs and family values, is pushing 40 and having arguably his best season ever.
Perhaps the lesson that can be drawn from all this is a paradox: That the virtues of humility and discipline, as well as acknowledging that one’s talents are God-given, can produce world-class competitors.
In that spirit, may character trump raw athleticism in this year’s race for the Heisman.
Race on, Colt!
Isabel Lyman holds a doctorate in social science and is the author of The Homeschooling Revolution (2000).
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