Can QB rivals be pals?

Bradford, McCoy have become fast friends

By John Shinn

The battles they’ve waged against one another have been some of the greatest epics in the Oklahoma-Texas rivalry.

OU quarterback Sam Bradford established himself as the Sooners’ offensive leader with a victory over the Longhorns in 2007. Texas’ Colt McCoy did the same when he used his quick feet and accurate arm to stun the Sooners in 2006 and again last season.

You’d think the programs they represent would lead to an Ali-Frazier cold war between the two quarterbacks. After all, they’re both once again Heisman Trophy contenders on teams with legitimate national championship aspirations.

But unlike other rivalries that have defined sports, Bradford and McCoy leave theirs for the Cotton Bowl each October.

There are no taunts, no cheap shots, no backhanded compliments of faint praise. There is a friendship between the two that has developed over the last year.

“We can both see beyond (the rivalry),” Bradford said.

To Bradford and McCoy, they have too many things in common to engage in a cold war.

They live in a unique world that few can possibly understand. Both became starting quarterbacks at two of college football’s most intensely followed programs in their redshirt freshman seasons. They’ve both become accustomed to life in the spotlight.

McCoy understands how each school’s fan base might find their friendly relationship odd.

“I think from the fans’ perspective it’s like, ‘What in the world are y’all doing. Y’all can’t be friends,’” he said. “For me and for him, we have a lot of things in common. We both weren’t recruited heavily out of high school. We went to our in-state school that we loved growing up. He played all the sports in high school, so did I. We both got to school and focused on one thing and that ended up being football.”

They’ve waged two epic battles against each other, but the first time they got together in a non-competitive situation, at last season’s Heisman Trophy festivities, they actually like each other.

Heisman finalists are often shuffled throughout the New York City on publicity trips and some even hit the town together after the trophy is awarded. Bradford, McCoy and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow were the only ones invited for the ceremony. Tebow wasn’t in a very social mood that weekend. Bradford and McCoy were.

“We spent a lot of time together. It’s just something (where) we stayed in contact throughout the spring and yeah, just kind of developed a friendship,” Bradford said.

Many of college football’s best quarterbacks are invited to work as instructors at the Manning Passing Academy each July in Thibodaux, La. Peyton and Eli Manning are the main attractions. But for quarterbacks of any age, it becomes a destination to be able to pick the brains of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks and some of college football’s best.

By coincidence, Bradford and McCoy were roommates for the five-day event. There was a lot of time to talk.

“We talked about a lot of non-football stuff. We got to know each other and where we came from, what we like to do when when we’re away from football and not in class,” McCoy said.

Perhaps it’s the position they play that allows them to stay above the fray. Emotions, tempers and blood pressures run high around everything they do on the field. But quarterbacks are expected to stay cool under pressure. They can’t get caught up in the chaos.

Bradford and McCoy are two of the best the college game has seen in those situations.

When OU and Texas hit the field Oct. 17 at the Cotton Bowl both will want to beat the brains out of the other. It will be the third meeting between the two programs with Bradford and McCoy behind center. The first two meetings have been split. The rubber match is coming. Yet no matter what happens in Dallas, the two quarterbacks will remain friendly.

Bradford admits he didn’t see it coming, but he has a pal leading the Longhorns.

“If you would have told me five years ago that I was going to become friends with the quarterback at Texas, I probably would have looked at you with a weird look,” he said. “But we both see past that we play for rival schools.”

John Shinn

366-3536

jshinn@normantranscript.com

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