‘I gave it all’: Texas football legend Colt McCoy retires, reflects on career giving glory to God

NCAA legend and NFL Quarterback Colt McCoy has retired from the game of football.

“Thank you, football. I’m excited for the next chapter,” McCoy posted on X last week. The post included a link to a 25-minute video showcasing the Texas Longhorn’s illustrious four-year run in college and 14-year career in the NFL.

“Football has been what I’ve done for 37 years,” McCoy says in the video. “Three-years-old and I was the water boy on my dad’s football team, and I’ve been around the game every day since.

“I never doubted that I didn’t give my best foot forward, that I didn’t work harder. I couldn’t watch more tape. I couldn’t do more. As I kind of move on from the game, I gave it all I had.” 

The day after officially retiring, McCoy was one of 10 athletes named to the Texas 2024 Hall of Honor class as the winningest quarterback in school history. The four-year starter left the University of Texas with the highest win total for any quarterback in NCAA history before that record fell to Boise State’s Kellen Moore in 2011. 

McCoy went 45-7 through 52 career starts as a Longhorn, throwing 112 touchdowns and becoming the first quarterback in NCAA history to have four 10-win seasons. He was also the Longhorns’ first-ever four-time team MVP. The school eventually retired his number 12 jersey. 

McCoy’s chance to cap off a storybook career at Texas was cut short when the two-time Heisman Trophy finalist was injured on his fifth snap in the national championship game against Alabama, who ended up beating the Longhorns 37-21. 

Though the injury was a crushing blow to end McCoy’s college career, in his on-field interview after the game with a national audience watching, the four-year starter held back tears as he praised God: 

“I love this game. I have a passion for this game. I’ve done everything I can to contribute to my team, and we’ve made it this far,” he said. “It’s unfortunate I didn’t get to play. I’d have given everything I had to be out there with my team. … I always give God the glory. I never question why things happen the way they do. God is in control of my life and I know, if nothing else, I’m standing on the rock.” 

McCoy feared the injury was career-ending when he couldn’t feel anything on the right side of his body, from his neck down. But it taught him to lean on his faith even more, he says. 

“I don’t want to say that’s why that happened,” McCoy said in an interview with pastor Matt Carter of Austin Stone Church. “But for me in my case, selfishly, I think in its own way I realized that if all that stuff was taken away – if football was gone, if my dreams were gone, everything I own, everything I had, everything I worked for was taken away – what I learned is that God has to be enough for me. Jesus has to be enough for me.” 

The Cleveland Browns selected McCoy in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He started eight games as a rookie, but his career was continually disrupted by injuries. All told, he played in 56 games across stints with five different teams. His last game was with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. 

McCoy spent all of 2023 rehabbing an elbow issue. By that point, he was at peace with his perpetual backup role and expressed gratitude to God for the opportunity. 

“I know that I am privileged to do it and that this is what God is allowing me to do,” he said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast while playing as a backup 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.” 

McCoy’s priorities, listed in order as “Faith. Family. Football” on his X and Instagram profiles, have remained intact throughout his 14-year career. 

“I love football,” he says near the end of his retirement 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.” 

McCoy’s next assignment is to call Big Ten games on NBC this fall, starting with a showdown between Nebraska and Colorado on Sept. 7.