Oct. 27, 2003

Editor's Note: This feature ran in the Oct. 25 edition of the Mizzou football gameday program.

by Emily Allen

He logged playing time in 34 consecutive games. He made, what some have called, one of the greatest catches in Mizzou history. He is a determined athlete, a devoted friend, and a loving son. This is the real McCoy.

Hailing from Moore, Okla., J.D. McCoy saw Mizzou as a good fit to the kind of football he wanted to play after high school. Although he had found great success in high school on defense, McCoy believes his cool and relaxed approach to the game works best offensively. With the Tigers he saw an opportunity to play on offense as an underclassman; an opportunity of which he took full advantage. In 2000, McCoy made his first career start against Kansas and caught a 12-yard pass on the first play of the game for his first career reception. It may sound effortless, but things weren't always so easy for the 6-foot-1 tight end.

"There were times freshman and sophomore year I just wanted to quit and go home," he remembers.

But he didn't quit. In fact, McCoy matured, persevered, worked hard in the weight room, and in 2002, he came back stronger than ever. Not only did McCoy triple his career receptions over the course of his junior year, but he was a five-time co-offensive player of the week, and scored his first career touchdown. For McCoy, preparation is the key to his success, and he credits a lot of that success to Coach Gary Pinkel.

"I really buy into Coach Pinkel's system. If you prepare well throughout the week, you'll play well."

McCoy appeared to be quite prepared on Sept. 20, when he came through on a fourth down with an impressive catch against Middle Tennessee State.

"When it's fourth down, I'd like to have the ball," he explains. "I love catching passes. That's fun."

A knee injury McCoy sustained on the play kept him out of the following game vs. KU. It was the first time in his four years as a Tiger that McCoy watched an entire game from the sideline.

Concerns haunted McCoy as he prepared for his return to the field.

"I didn't want to lose what I had before I was injured. I just really wanted to comeback and make an impact." He came back with a vengeance against Nebraska and helped the team topple its foe for the first time in 25 years.

"It's the biggest win I've ever been a part of," reveals McCoy. "That fourth quarter was the most complete we've played all year." He sees the win as a springboard for the rest of the season but remains modest regarding the team.

"You're never as bad as anyone thinks, and you're never as good as anyone says. We just have a really good football team, and we're just getting better and better."

While J.D. McCoy is quite familiar with big wins, he is no stranger to great loss. Two of his grandparents passed away in the summer of 2003, and he lost his father, a gospel music hall of famer, to a bout with cancer in 1999.

"He was a great dad," McCoy remembers. "Everyone loved him and looked up to him."

Times were rough for McCoy following the death of his father. He went through a self described "tailspin", but soon began questioning himself.

"Is that what my father would want? That's how I measure myself." It was then he realized it was time to "step up and be a man." Through all of the ups and downs, family has remained McCoy's lifeline.

"My mom, my grandma and my sister are the most important people in my life," he says.

Not only does he depend on the support of his family, but J.D. has also learned to trust in his teammates both on and off the field.

"We're all like best friends," McCoy says as he refers to the button he is wearing of his roommate, defensive lineman Phil Pitts. "We're constantly together."

In between playing football, hanging out with the guys, playing golf, and playing video games, McCoy is earning a general studies degree. Although some of his teammates joke that McCoy should move to Nashville to pursue a singing career, he plans on applying the work ethic and discipline he has learned on the field to his career as a police officer when he returns to Oklahoma following graduation.

Whether it's the game of football, important relationships, or his future plans, it is obvious that failure is not an option for McCoy. He works hard. He plays hard. He takes nothing for granted, and it is his will to make his father proud that will continue to propel him in the years to come.

"I realized I have to be somebody. That's what my dad would want."