[bears9]

AUSTIN – Colt McCoy, a name seemingly plucked from the pages of a Louis L'Amour novel, is as tough as a rodeo cowboy.
No questions exist about his intestinal fortitude.
Not after the physical beatings we saw him take last season against Kansas State and Texas A&M. And certainly not after the pounding we watched him absorb in last weekend's embarrassing 41-21 home loss to Kansas State.
That's why Mack Brown needs to sit the redshirt sophomore this week – to ensure McCoy has all of the time he needs to completely recover from symptoms of a mild concussion he experienced Saturday.
No one at UT will actually admit McCoy suffered a concussion, which I find troubling. McCoy won't. Neither will Brown. The medical staff issued a statement that said the quarterback had "symptoms" of a mild concussion.




UT avoiding the issue brings out the cynic in me. Either McCoy had a concussion or he didn't. Concussions happen in football – now more than ever because players are bigger, faster and stronger than they've ever been.
All I know is that McCoy's aftercare should be exactly the same whether OU or Iowa State is on the schedule this week. The shroud of secrecy should make anyone wonder if that's the case.
We know McCoy is never going to ask out of a game. No tough guy ever would. It's not part of their makeup. Besides, no player wants to miss the Red River Shootout.
It doesn't really get any bigger than Texas-OU in this part of the country these days, while A&M languishes as a second-tier program. So McCoy is going to do everything in his power to play, which is why Brown and the UT medical staff should intervene.
You don't get another brain.
It's simplistic, but true. A concussion – even a mild one – results in an injury to the brain. It's one thing to let Jon Kitna of the Detroit Lions talk his way back onto the field after a concussion because he's a professional earning millions of dollars. The same goes for Julius Jones, who said he suffered concussions in two of the Cowboys' first three games.
But McCoy won't earn a nickel for Saturday's game.
Just about every piece of medical evidence available suggests once a person has a concussion, he's susceptible to having another – and usually more severe.
Beating OU simply isn't worth the chance.
Besides, who said freshman John Chiles can't lead the Longhorns past OU and write his own page in the annals of UT history just like James Brown did in 1994, when injuries forced him into a starting role.
Kansas State hammered McCoy late in the first half, and he spent halftime with the training staff. Brown and offensive coordinator Greg Davis didn't expect McCoy to play, so coaches spent halftime preparing Chiles.
Then, McCoy appeared on the sideline just before the half started and told Brown he had been cleared to play.
"I don't have any input into the medical at all," Brown said.
McCoy performed poorly, in part, because the offensive line failed to adequately protect him.
He threw two more interceptions, giving him four in the game, before leaving the field after vomiting and experiencing nausea.
As expected, McCoy isn't interested in discussing his health. In fact, he won't even admit he had a concussion.
"I don't really want to get into that," he said. "I'll be fine. I've been working with the trainers. They'll have me ready to go."
When pressed, McCoy said he had taken a battery of tests over the last 48 hours, and all of the results turned out fine, including comparisons to tests he took in the off-season to establish a baseline.
"I showed a lot of the symptoms and a lot of the signs," of a concussion, he said. "I'm really not that concerned. They ran the tests on me, and they all came out like they should. "
That's the problem. He should be concerned.
The NFL recently completed a six-year study about the effects of concussions on players, leading to new set of whistle-blower rules that allows anyone to anonymously report when doctors are pressured into clearing players who have concussions, in addition to distributing brochures and requiring players to buckle their chin straps.

[Lefty Noob]

Only if they suddenly found out Vince Young had a year of eligibilty left. Otherwise, no, McCoy's your guy and you stick with him.