Fall 2024
Football

QB Colt McCoy retires, enters Texas' Hall of Honor, grateful to 'the Good Lord' for career

By Joshua Doering Aug 21, 2024
Colt McCoy with the Arizona Cardinals during the 2023 preseason. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Former University of Texas star and veteran NFL quarterback Colt McCoy officially brought his career to a close Monday, announcing his retirement after 14 seasons. McCoy made the announcement in a social media post that included a video reflecting on his career. Near the end of the video, he gave thanks to God for being able to play football for so long.

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“I love football,” he said in the video. “It’s a beautiful sport. It’s a great game, and it’s taught me so much about my makeup. My DNA. My competitive spirit. I’m very, very, very appreciative of it. I hate that I can’t play anymore, but I’m also grateful for what the Good Lord allowed me to do and how long I got to play.”

Then on Tuesday, he was one of 10 athletes included in Texas’ 2024 Hall of Honor class. McCoy was a four-year starter at Texas and holds numerous school records. He left as the winningest quarterback in college football history with 45 victories, a record that was later broken by Boise State’s Kellen Moore.

“I don’t know that anybody’s expectations were for me to go in there and play four years at the flagship school of our state,” he said in the video. “I don’t think I expected that. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.”

A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, McCoy led the Longhorns to the national championship game as a senior in the 2009 season. He was injured early in the game and was forced to watch from the sidelines as his teammates lost to Alabama.

In an interview on the field with ESPN after the game, McCoy pointed to his strong faith in God that sustained him throughout his career. While the loss was still painful, McCoy was grateful he had a foundation of faith to lean on. He came on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in 2021 and reflected on the way he handled the interview.

“I’m so thankful looking back on it now to understand that I knew what my foundation and purpose was although it wasn’t what I would ever have wanted,” he said on the podcast. “I knew that my faith and Jesus and what He’s done for me on the cross. And my identity is that I am a football player, I get to do that, but if that’s taken away, then that’s God’s plan and God’s purpose.”

The Cleveland Browns selected McCoy in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft, and he started eight games as a rookie. He battled injuries throughout his career but played in 56 games for five different teams, posting an 11-25 record as a starter. His last regular-season appearance came with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022, and he spent the 2023 season rehabbing an elbow injury.

As he got deeper into his career, McCoy became more comfortable putting it in God’s hands and embracing his role as a backup and mentor.

“I know that I am privileged to do it, and that this is what God is allowing me to do,” he said on the podcast while playing for the Cardinals. “He can take that away at any moment. And if He does, I’m going to go that way. And I’m cool with that. And it’s taken me a long time to get there.”

The 37-year-old is not saying goodbye to football though. He will be calling Big Ten games for NBC this fall, starting with Colorado’s visit to Nebraska on Sept. 7.

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