McCoy's legend started early

Long before Colt McCoy suited up for the University of Texas, his father, Brad, was literally laying the groundwork that would help add to his son's legendary status in the Lone Star State.

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Twenty-two years ago, Brad and his wife, Debra, both from Texas, were living just across the New Mexico border in Hobbs. On the day Colt was born, Brad - wanting his son to be a "Texas native" - brought a shoebox full of dirt from his home state to the hospital and placed it under his wife's bed.

In all good legends, the line between fact and fiction is blurred, and this example is no different. While the tale has been widely circulated on the Internet, Brad has reportedly taken the fifth when asked to confirm it, and even Colt isn't 100 percent sure it is true.

"I can't remember. I was a little baby," he joked earlier this week. "That's what my folks say. ...

"Nobody has said it wasn't true so far, so I guess it's true."

True or not, Colt has done much more to endure himself to Texas than simply being born over its soil. After his family relocated to Tuscola, Texas, Colt became a high school star and led his team to a state championship his senior year. He then moved on to UT, where he faced the daunting task of taking over for Vince Young, the winningest quarterback in program history.

The intense pressure and high expectations that come with playing quarterback for the Longhorns, though, have not shaken McCoy, and today he holds the title of winningest quarterback (31) in school history, along with 35 other school records.

Seven of those records were set in 2006, when he was named Big 12 offensive freshman and newcomer of the year. After a sophomore season in which his numbers slumped, McCoy bounced back this year with a Tim Tebow-esque performance, leading Texas in both passing (3,445 yards) and rushing (576). That wasn't by design McCoy said.

"Going into the season, the thing we really focused on was, especially for me and what (offensive coordinator) Coach (Greg) Davis hounded over and over, was just do what the defense tells you to do," McCoy said. "If you need to run the ball and sprint out and the passing game isn't there, then duck down and make five or 10 yards. That's kind of been my mentality all year long."

As a result, McCoy, who led the nation in completion percentage (77.6), has been responsible for 70.3 percent of the Longhorns' total offense (4,021 of 5,717 yards) and had a hand in 42 of the team's 66 touchdowns. Statistics like that usually lead to a Heisman Trophy, but McCoy finished second to Oklahoma's Sam Bradford. Still, those numbers do strike fear in opposing defenses.

One "thing that stands out to me is how patient Colt is," Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said. "He is not always looking to run first. Once nothing is there, he can move around the pocket. Things start to open up when guys have to cover for more than five seconds. Hopefully we can get our D-line to not let him run around too often. On the back end, it stresses us out a lot."

McCoy has already announced that he will be back for his senior year, hoping to add a national championship to his storybook career.

"I love my coaches and my teammates. I want to graduate," McCoy said when asked about his decision. "I can go on and on, because there are a lot of things that I want to do. I also feel like we are going to be really good next year."

With McCoy at the helm, it will be hard to find anyone who argues with that last statement.

"I don't really think there is anybody else who can do what he does as far as being as accurate as he is and running the ball as well," wide receiver Jordan Shipley said. "I think you can't say enough about what he does, and as a result, I think people will be talking about him for a long time."

Fiesta BowlOhio State vs. Texas

When: 6:30 p.m. Monday

TV: Ch 10

Colt McCoy's stats

Comp-Att-Int Pct Yds TD Long Avg/G

Passing 291-375-7 77.6 3445 32 91 287.1

Att Yards Avg TD Long Avg/G

Rushing 128 576 4.5 10 35 48.0