Growing Up Colt: A Father, a Son, a Life in Football - Hardcover

He vied for the Heisman and the national championship, then earned a third-round NFL draft spot. Now, Colt McCoy offers an up-close and personal view of his life, covering football, family, and faith. A unique dual-perspective biography, by Colt and his father, Brad, Growing Up Colt promises inspiration for fans of all ages.

Front flap

From Growing Up Colt

I’m aware that most NFL quarterbacks—if they ever do write a book—usually do so after winning a Super Bowl or retiring following a Hall of Fame career. I’ll be twenty-five years old when the 2011 NFL season starts, so in a way, my professional football career is ahead of me.

Throughout my life so far, I’ve put in a lot of hard work, and I’ll have to keep working hard to succeed in the NFL. I’ve tried to do my best—one of the four Bible-based principles Dad raised me with—and though I haven’t been perfect, I’m proud of the way my parents brought me up. As you’ll see in this book, I wouldn’t be where I am today without their valuable input and hands-on parental guidance.

Not only will you will learn how Dad’s principles shaped me and my character, I think you’ll enjoy some stories about my time in a small Texas high school, at the highest levels of college football with the University of Texas, and in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns.

But don’t get the idea that Dad or Mom were “football parents” who micromanaged my life every step of the way and can’t let go even though I’m married and playing in the NFL. Instead, they always said their goal was to work their way out of a job by training me to be a leader and serve others.

As you’ll see in Growing Up Colt, I’m the beneficiary of the great foundation they laid down.

Colt McCoy

Back flap

Colt McCoy, a third-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns, quarterbacked his University of Texas team to the 2010 BCS national championship game. The 2008 Heisman trophy runner-up, McCoy has been involved in domestic and foreign ministries, and married in the summer of 2010. Visit his website at coltmccoy.com.

Brad McCoy, a long-time high school football coach in Texas, now serves as a consultant with The Flippen Group, specializing in talent development. Also a motivational speaker, Brad and his wife, Debra, have raised three sons—Colt, Chance, and Case, who is also a quarterback for the University of Texas.

Mike Yorkey is a former editor of Focus on the Family magazine who has written numerous books for and about sports figures. A graduate of the University of Oregon’s school of journalism, Mike and his wife, Nicole, are the parents of two adult children and live in the San Diego area. Visit his website at mikeyorkey.com.

Back cover

How does a young player

from a small town of 714

reach the highest levels of

college and professional football?

From tiny Tuscola, Texas, to the University of Texas, to the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy has quarterbacked himself to a life that most people only dream about.

            Sure, he’s been blessed with God-given talent and skills. But he’s also worked hard—very hard—and been coached at every level by talented people who honed his natural abilities. Now, in Growing Up Colt, he and his first great influence (his father, Brad) share

• the Bible-based principles that were the foundation of his upbringing
• details of his family background and childhood
• stories of his on-field performance at the junior high and high school levels
• a roundup of his stellar college football career with the Longhorns
• a recap of his NFL experience—so far
• mistakes made and obstacles overcome