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10-26-2006, 10:11 AM
Little towns produce some of Big 12's best
09:59 AM CDT on Thursday, October 26, 2006
By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News
It's a giant leap for a quarterback to go from a small town to the Big 12.
How big is the jump?
"Take the best guy you played against in high school," Baylor senior quarterback Shawn Bell said. "You see 11 of him every week."
But Bell is one of a few quarterbacks from small Texas towns enjoying successful seasons for Big 12 programs. He'll face fellow Class 3A alum Stephen McGee on Saturday, when the Bears play Texas A&M at Floyd Casey Stadium. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy comes from 2A Tuscola Jim Ned.
Five quarterbacks from 2A or 3A schools have been included on Rivals.com's list of the state's top 100 recruits the last five years. Bell, McGee and McCoy are the only ones to become starters at Division I-A schools.
The common denominator: All three are coaches' sons. Bell's dad, Mark, is the head coach at China Spring. Brad McCoy was his son's head coach in high school. McGee's dad, Rodney, recently retired as Burnet's head basketball coach and was an assistant football coach for several years.
"I don't think that's a coincidence that they're all coaches' kids," said Bob Shipley, McGee's football coach at Burnet and Brad McCoy's college roommate. "They understand the game and are a lot farther ahead than other kids that come from 3A and 2A schools. That competitiveness is ingrained in them at such a young age."
McCoy displayed his competitive nature by beating out Jevan Snead, a more highly regarded recruit, for the starting job in August.
Bell kept battling despite getting beat out by Dane King in 2004 and being benched for Terrance Parks last season.
McGee, the best runner of the three, refuses to slide or run out of bounds to avoid collisions. He shows the same stubbornness when downplaying the leap from a small town to the Big 12.
"I think people put too much emphasis on that," McGee said. "Eighth grade, ninth grade, I was kind of worried about that. But that doesn't matter. Some of the guys I played against in high school, even at a 3A level, are guys I'm seeing in the Big 12 now."
Bell, who is padding school season records after passing for 2,322 yards and 18 touchdowns in the first eight games, said his best asset is his knowledge of the game. Baylor coach Guy Morriss praised Bell's diligence in studying film. It's a habit Bell picked up while hanging around field houses with his father.
Bell's commitment to preparation has helped him avoid mistakes. His career interception percentage of .019 (17 in 545 passes) is the lowest of any active Division I-A quarterback with at least 500 attempts.
McGee, a redshirt sophomore, has the nation's lowest interception rate this season of quarterbacks who have attempted at least 180 passes. He's been picked off once in 204 attempts while passing for 1,538 yards and nine touchdowns.
McCoy has made precious few mistakes for a redshirt freshman. He's thrown three interceptions while passing for 1,449 yards and 20 touchdowns.
"They've learned the discipline part of the game," Mark Bell said. "When they go out there, they can pick up on things a little bit quicker."
Three Big 12 South offenses are led by coaches' sons from small towns: (clockwise from top) Baylor's Shawn Bell, Texas' Colt McCoy and Texas A&M's Stephen McGee. Baylor's quarterback of the future could be another coach's son. G.J. Kinne is starring at Gilmer after playing the last three seasons at Canton for his father, Gary Joe, who left to become the Bears' linebackers coach.
G.J. Kinne, ranked as the state's No. 69 recruit by Rivals.com, has orally committed to Baylor. He plans to graduate high school in December so he can compete to replace Bell next season.
Gary Joe Kinne acknowledged that quarterbacks at larger high schools face better competition on a regular basis. But he said quarterbacks from smaller schools often get more experience, because they become starters as underclassmen.
G.J. Kinne has started in a pass-happy spread offense since the first game of his freshman season. Bell, McCoy and McGee were all three-year starters in similar schemes.
The speed of the game is the biggest adjustment for any quarterback going from high school to the Big 12. That's especially true for small-town products.
"The speed is a lot faster, and the size is a tremendous difference," Bell said. "But you get adjusted."
Staff Writer Rachel Cohen contributed to this report.
E-mail tmacmahon@dallasnews.com
09:59 AM CDT on Thursday, October 26, 2006
By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News
It's a giant leap for a quarterback to go from a small town to the Big 12.
How big is the jump?
"Take the best guy you played against in high school," Baylor senior quarterback Shawn Bell said. "You see 11 of him every week."
But Bell is one of a few quarterbacks from small Texas towns enjoying successful seasons for Big 12 programs. He'll face fellow Class 3A alum Stephen McGee on Saturday, when the Bears play Texas A&M at Floyd Casey Stadium. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy comes from 2A Tuscola Jim Ned.
Five quarterbacks from 2A or 3A schools have been included on Rivals.com's list of the state's top 100 recruits the last five years. Bell, McGee and McCoy are the only ones to become starters at Division I-A schools.
The common denominator: All three are coaches' sons. Bell's dad, Mark, is the head coach at China Spring. Brad McCoy was his son's head coach in high school. McGee's dad, Rodney, recently retired as Burnet's head basketball coach and was an assistant football coach for several years.
"I don't think that's a coincidence that they're all coaches' kids," said Bob Shipley, McGee's football coach at Burnet and Brad McCoy's college roommate. "They understand the game and are a lot farther ahead than other kids that come from 3A and 2A schools. That competitiveness is ingrained in them at such a young age."
McCoy displayed his competitive nature by beating out Jevan Snead, a more highly regarded recruit, for the starting job in August.
Bell kept battling despite getting beat out by Dane King in 2004 and being benched for Terrance Parks last season.
McGee, the best runner of the three, refuses to slide or run out of bounds to avoid collisions. He shows the same stubbornness when downplaying the leap from a small town to the Big 12.
"I think people put too much emphasis on that," McGee said. "Eighth grade, ninth grade, I was kind of worried about that. But that doesn't matter. Some of the guys I played against in high school, even at a 3A level, are guys I'm seeing in the Big 12 now."
Bell, who is padding school season records after passing for 2,322 yards and 18 touchdowns in the first eight games, said his best asset is his knowledge of the game. Baylor coach Guy Morriss praised Bell's diligence in studying film. It's a habit Bell picked up while hanging around field houses with his father.
Bell's commitment to preparation has helped him avoid mistakes. His career interception percentage of .019 (17 in 545 passes) is the lowest of any active Division I-A quarterback with at least 500 attempts.
McGee, a redshirt sophomore, has the nation's lowest interception rate this season of quarterbacks who have attempted at least 180 passes. He's been picked off once in 204 attempts while passing for 1,538 yards and nine touchdowns.
McCoy has made precious few mistakes for a redshirt freshman. He's thrown three interceptions while passing for 1,449 yards and 20 touchdowns.
"They've learned the discipline part of the game," Mark Bell said. "When they go out there, they can pick up on things a little bit quicker."
Three Big 12 South offenses are led by coaches' sons from small towns: (clockwise from top) Baylor's Shawn Bell, Texas' Colt McCoy and Texas A&M's Stephen McGee. Baylor's quarterback of the future could be another coach's son. G.J. Kinne is starring at Gilmer after playing the last three seasons at Canton for his father, Gary Joe, who left to become the Bears' linebackers coach.
G.J. Kinne, ranked as the state's No. 69 recruit by Rivals.com, has orally committed to Baylor. He plans to graduate high school in December so he can compete to replace Bell next season.
Gary Joe Kinne acknowledged that quarterbacks at larger high schools face better competition on a regular basis. But he said quarterbacks from smaller schools often get more experience, because they become starters as underclassmen.
G.J. Kinne has started in a pass-happy spread offense since the first game of his freshman season. Bell, McCoy and McGee were all three-year starters in similar schemes.
The speed of the game is the biggest adjustment for any quarterback going from high school to the Big 12. That's especially true for small-town products.
"The speed is a lot faster, and the size is a tremendous difference," Bell said. "But you get adjusted."
Staff Writer Rachel Cohen contributed to this report.
E-mail tmacmahon@dallasnews.com