Texas QB McCoy hurt on his 1st drive in BCS game

PASADENA, Calif. — Texas quarterback Colt McCoy left the BCS championship game with an injury to his passing shoulder during the Longhorns’ first drive Thursday night and was taken for X-rays.

Team officials described it only as a generic “right shoulder injury,” adding that McCoy would be re-evaluated at halftime. His father was seen entering the Texas locker room after McCoy returned there following the X-rays.

“It’s just a shoulder and they’re re-evaluating,” Texas coach Mack Brown told ABC at halftime, with the No. 2 Longhorns trailing No. 1 Alabama 24-6. “We’ve got to plan on playing without him. We’ve got to do a better job than we’re doing.”

McCoy was injured on just his fifth snap in the final game of his record-setting career. He kept the ball on an option to his left and was hit square by lineman Marcell Dareus for no gain. McCoy got up and appeared to be OK, but then went to the sideline as freshman backup Garrett Gilbert ran in and called timeout.

Throughout the break, McCoy was being examined on the ground. Several minutes later he went to the bench and consulted with trainers, raising his arm as they examined it. Once he left the field, he didn’t return to the sideline in the first half.

“They would be a lot better team because he’s a great player,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. “So it’s unfortunate for them.”

McCoy is the winningest quarterback in NCAA history, with 45 victories in his 52 starts. He’s been durable, too, never missing a game with an injury despite weighing only 180 pounds when he first took over as a redshirt freshman. He’s filled out to 215 pounds, but has also taken a beating as one of the team’s top runners.

He was sacked nine times in the Big 12 championship game, yet still led a winning drive in the final minute.

McCoy was third in Heisman Trophy voting this season after finishing second the year before.

He is a two-time winner of the Walter Camp Foundation’s player of the year award. This season, he also won the Maxwell Award as the player of the year, the Davey O’Brien Award as the top quarterback and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the top senior quarterback.

At the end of his redshirt year, McCoy watched from the sideline as Vince Young led Texas to a national championship with an upset of No. 1 Southern California in the Rose Bowl. Back on the same field under very similar circumstances, McCoy was looking forward to trying to cap his career with a title, too.

“You know, I’ve been lucky to stay healthy,” he said Tuesday. “For me, as a quarterback, you understand you’re going to take shots. I understand that the coaches need me to run the ball, so I bust my tail in the weight room. I work out as hard as I can. I work out three to four times a week really preparing my body for those shots that I take. I try to be in the best physical shape that I possibly can be.”

McCoy said he tries to avoid getting hit hard, but “obviously, it’s going to happen sometimes because sometimes I’m a running back.”

“You just have to prepare yourself,” he said. “It’s just one of those things. … I played my first year at 180 pounds, and now I’m playing at 215. It’s been a lot of hard work and preparation to get to this point. … I think there’s a way to get hit where you’re not having to fall on your shoulder or — I don’t know what to say. I guess it’s just a knack to play the game.”

Gilbert is the son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert and was a prized recruit, winning several national high school player of the year awards in 2008.

Texas has been grooming him to replace McCoy, using him in nine games this season. He went 15 of 26 passing for 124 yards. However, the four games he didn’t play were against the Longhorns’ toughest foes: Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas A&M.

Gilbert also appeared to be shaken up on a first-half hit, but stayed in the game.