It wasn't just the physical part of the game. He worried about taking charge of a team full of veterans returning from a championship season. His coaches took steps to protect him.
"We actually went to the shotgun and no-huddle most of that year so he wouldn't have to be in the huddle talking to the older kids," Brown said.
Brown calls the '06 season "a miracle," McCoy completing 68% of his passes, leading Texas to a victory over Iowa in the Alamo Bowl. His success kindled big expectations for the next fall.
The Longhorns started at No. 4 in the 2007 preseason polls but fell steadily, hampered by injuries and inexperience along the offensive line. There were losses to Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M as McCoy's interceptions nearly tripled, to 18.
"He had every buzzard's luck you could have," said Greg Davis, Texas' offensive coordinator. "I bet he had six balls that were tipped. Sometimes they find the ground. That season, they always found the opponent's hands."
Though Texas finished with a victory over Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl, fans weren't satisfied and McCoy took most of the heat.
"Understand that his second year, which everyone says was so bad, we won 10 games and he threw for 3,000 yards," Brown said. But, the coach added, "Our standard for quarterbacks around here is a lot higher than some."
Student driver
Every day during summer camp, it was the same thing. When the offense broke from its meeting, McCoy sidled up to Davis and asked: What can I do to get better?
"I was nagging. I was bugging," he recalled. "Trying to figure out every little thing."
It was clear the quarterback was pressing. "He was frustrated and he was mad," said Davis, who finally sat him down and gave him an answer that made all the difference.
Do less, he said.
The coordinator, very big on analogies, compares McCoy to a student driver who obeys all the rules at first but, with a little confidence, starts easing through stop signs and neglecting to use his turn signal.
"Then, boom, you have an accident," Davis said. "The great thing about having an accident is you go back and realize how quickly that car can get out of control."
Coaches take some blame for McCoy's sophomore woes, saying they made the offense too complex. So they simplified the playbook and emphasized a careful approach. Take what the defense gives. Avoid turnovers. In other words, they wanted McCoy to be a little bit more like that cautious newcomer back in 2006.
