Colt and Case McCoy In Mirroring Pre-Season Quarterback Situations

The McCoys are in heated competition. There are no Hatfields involved, but brothers Colt and Case are embroiled in the same battle some 1400 miles apart.

Quarterbacks’ spectrum is very polarized. A QB is either a hero or a goat, with little room in between. The McCoy Bros. have experienced each side. A stark contrast between the two ends is that heroic status is fleeting, and a hero can become a goat quickly. Removing the goat label is much more difficult, and often results in a fade into obscurity.

When that occurs, another quarterback steps behind center and the cycle begins anew. David Ash and Brandon Weeden are in waiting. Both are likely to overtake their respective McCoy competitor — Weeden already has, in fact.

Each McCoy is in that goat role. Quarterbacks become the face of teams, and last year Case played for an 8-5 Longhorn squad. Colt quarterbacked a 4-12 team.

Colt had quite a reign as hero previously, though. He left Texas after the 2009 season with a legacy perhaps unparalleled in the annals of Longhorn history. He fell just short of delivering the national championship with which his predecessor capped his career. But in four seasons as a starter, Colt McCoy amassed historic stats. Chris Sims may have rolled up in a limousine, but McCoy was the Longhorn quarterback to meet the hype.

McCoy’s NFL Draft status didn’t match his collegiate success. He went in the third, same round that the aforementioned Sims was taken without the same resume. Even that was considered a gamble because of what SBNation Dallas’ Jonathan Tjarks called “the Tyranny Of Inches,” or a professional obsession with size. Colt is 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds.

Given size is determined hereditarily, logical dictates that Colt’s brother would also be small — or at least, what football considers small. There is validity to the emphasis placed on size, too. Colt took a lot of punishment last season as the full-time starter, which resulted in injuries and numerous fumbles. Protecting Colt more effectively might be the answer, but he plays a style that isn’t conducive to avoiding contact. Colt rushed for over 200 yards, a facet of his game that helped make him a collegiate star and gives him a unique look from other NFL quarterbacks. Furthermore, McCoy was put in a position wherein he had to rush — even with his contribution, the Browns ranked No. 30 in the NFL for yards on the ground.

Case is listed at a generous 6-foot-2, but is a light 200 pounds. Sustaining nine sacks last season as Case did on a part-time schedule adds up.

Weeden is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds. He’s built to withstand more punishment. Further, his game is not predicated on the two pronged approach that led to Colt taking so many hits. Conversely, Ash’s style is more reliant on his ability to rush than is Case’s game. But at 6-foot-3 and nearly 230 pounds and growing, Ash is more suited to abuse.

Case came to UT in similar fashion to Colt, following a legend’s act with tremendous pressure. For Case, sharing a last name and blood line perhaps exacerbated the expectations upon him. His time as hero was briefer than most, lasting the few seconds during which he broke off a run that set up UT victory against rivalry Texas A&M. Otherwise his numbers were modest last season, in a campaign that would be considered mediocre by UT standards.

The Bros. McCoy were statistically similar with the pass in 2011. Neither was necessarily bad: each threw more touchdowns than interceptions. There completion percentages were not great, but not awful, either. Case was actually better with the pass than Ash, the latter of whom was in a similar position as Weeden, coming in with high expectations but lacking experience. As a rookie likely to throw often, Weeden could see as many balls end up in the hands of cornerbacks as wide receivers.

That is no attack on Weeden’s ability, either. First round quarterback draftees who get the nod right away usually do because the team surrounding them is not up to par with the rest of the NFL. Weeden has the potential and tools to become a breakout star, and the same is true for Ash.

Grooming such quarterbacks is a high risk, high reward scenario, and high reward trumps middling consistency.

Now, for Case the offer of consistency could land him the starting job eventually. UT is in a position to win now, and steadiness is a more palatable option than erratic potential should Ash’s 2012 mirror his 2011. Further, Case is afforded the competition for the position his brother is not.