TYLER - Saturday afternoon, at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium, there were two NFL quarterbacks on hand for a short period at the Colt McCoy-Luke McCown Football Clinic.

The two had never met, but already shared a common bond.

In April, McCoy was taken in the third round by the Cleveland Browns, as was McCown six years, ago. McCown was a fourth-round Browns pick in 2004, after his Louisiana Tech career.

Asking McCown if he had any advice for McCoy about Cleveland, Luke, the seven-year veteran laughed and quickly said, “he better go buy him some warm clothes.”

As the day began, McCown just blended in with the coaches and kids, and repeated the camp from one week ago, in his hometown of Jacksonville and the McCown Passing Camp with brothers Josh and Randy, of football lore and fame..

Later, McCoy showed up in a limousine with family members and a security crew.

Above left, Jacksonville native, Luke McCown talks to a group at Tyler’s Rose Stadium this past Saturday, as Green Acres Baptist hosted the Colt McCoy/Luke McCown Football Clinic. McCown is now playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL, and talked to campers and parents alike before storms forced the finish of the clinic in the locker room. Above right, Colt McCoy, former UT Longhorn quarterback and now Cleveland Brown, made the end of the clinic due to travel problems but shared his testimony with a Q&A session before he departed to prepare to speak at Green Acres Baptist All- Sports Banquet. (Banner Staff Photos by Doc Smith) After a briefing on the itinerary for the rest of the day, McCoy had time to talk for a bit and joked around with the campers, before being shuffled off to the next engagement.

McCoy was the keynote speaker at the Green Acres All-Sports Banquet.

The clinic coaches put drills together, and Jacksonville Jaguar quarterback, McCown just slid into every age group with each drill, always talking it up and offering encouragement.

“This was just another great opportunity to teach some kids some football,” McCown began, “and to teach them some life skills, share the gospel with them, and hopefully shape their lives in a positive way.

“For me, it’s the starting point of every decision you make, whether it’s a decision about school, the friends you choose, and how hard you want to work at somethingall of those things revolve around Christ,” the former Cleveland Brown draft pick said, “It shapes how hard I work, what I expect out of myself, it shapes the people I hang around with, all the things that entail a life.

“How to react to the hard times, how you take the good with the bad, is all about your relationship with Christ,” Luke added, ““The only way you make it in life is with a foundation firmly planted in Jesus Christ.”

Then, McCown was off to blend with the camp and the 150-plus participants in awe of the veteran quarterback, as the fun stuff continued with football drills.

After the first session and water break, McCown addressed the group of players and the added fans in the stands with his personal testimony, and some humorous old stories about being molded at home by mom and dad.

McCown’s true love for Christ and family really came out in a story he related about a scare with a daughter, that made a strenuous football situation not quite so important.

“I was really trying to get some reps in, and it was tough running third-string, and I was dealing with that, but when we found this knot on my daughter’s skull, football wasn’t anywhere near my concern,” McCown continued. “The doctors said it was an unusual situation they had not dealt with very much, and the surgery was going to be tough.

“At that point all you can do is pray and turn it over to the Lord,” Luke said, “and amazing things can happen.”

And it did, the day of her surgerybecause what was thought to be a tumor growing through her skull, turned out to be a non-cancerous tumor just sitting on top of the bone, and the doctor was astounded that what he thought was going to be so difficult, turned out to be just a sew-up job, “and my daughter has had not a problem with it since,” McCown added.

A few more stories and warnings about some decisions ahead, and it was back to two sessions of football drills with the staff, as everyone awaited the arrival Colt McCoy, the NCAA’s all-time winningest quarterback…..or would those ugly clouds from the south make it first.

Mother Nature won that race, as the downpour started about five-minutes ahead of the McCoy entourage. McCoy spoke in the visitors locker room at TMF Rose Stadium, after rain forced the proceedings indoors.

“I am just happy to be back in Texas for a little bit,” McCoy said. “I grew up in west Texas, so to come here and see a bunch of UT jerseys, to see a lot of kids and speak to them, and just encourage them in their walk with the Lord, and as they grow up and as they play... that’s pretty special.”

McCoy had a few minutes for the media, and of course, the inevitable question came around.

“The national championship game was disappointing, but you’ve got to put it behind you and keep working, keep fighting,” McCoy said. “One positive out of the situation is, its making me want it that much more. It’s driving me to get back out on the field and compete and play and get back to another championship game.”

Above left, Luke McCown watches one of the quarterback hopefuls during the drills at the McCoy-McCown Football Clinic at Rose Stadium in Tyler, last Saturday. Top right, Colt McCoy gets his details on the time frame for his talk. At left, McCown explains some basics to the clinic. Above. McCown finishes off a drill, showing how a pro does it. At right, Mcoy caught by surprise before going out to talk to the locker room full of campers. (Banner Staff Photos by Doc Smith) The campers on-hand were from middle school to high school aged kids, of whom 80% had on some type of Texas football attire.

After a ten-minute talk, Colt went in to a Q&A session that entailed a first question about “when was he baptized,” to questions about playing in game situations, as the crowd was glued to the former Longhorn.

“I was baptized when I was 14,” McCoy answered, while adding a familiar sounding story about mom and dad molding him at home, with a firm Christian foundation.