Former Texas star McCoy pens open letter to Longhorns
Current Washington Redskins backup quarterback and legendary Texas signal-caller Colt McCoy wrote an open letter on The Players' Tribune to current Longhorns players leading up to their season opener against Notre Dame on Saturday.
McCoy gives a profound description of the atmosphere, emotions, and energy he felt before a big game.
As the team went out for the coin toss, I would find a place on the sidelines where I was alone, take a knee, and for a few moments I'd just be present in my surroundings. I'd look at all the fans in the stands. I'd look at the band all dressed up and jumping around. I'd take a few moments to thank God for the opportunity in front of me. And then I'd look at my teammates, all of them standing there with this focused intensity, ready to compete. I'd take a mental picture of everything happening, and feel this tremendous sense of joy and pride to be there in that moment, as part of this thing that is so much bigger than me.
McCoy continued the letter by giving his outlook on how to deal with the pressure, while living up to the challenge of being a Longhorn.
But here's the thing I learned eventually: The pressure doesn't go away. It's always there. You're at Texas - the expectations never ease up. So what I discovered over time (and what you will as well) is that the pressure is a good thing. Eventually I learned to feed off of it. I even craved it, because it pushed me to be the best version of myself.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound McCoy passed for 13,253 yards and 112 touchdowns during his time at Texas.
McCoy was also the all-time winningest quarterback in college football history with 45 victories at the time of his graduation.