Rico McCoy
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Rico McCoy (born November 6, 1987) is a linebacker for the University of Tennessee Volunteers in the NCAA college football tournament. McCoy "makes a living" out of punishing both the opposing blockers and the ball carrier. Despite sharing playing time for most of his rookie year, he still managed to produce on the defensive end to earn freshman All-American accolades from a number of organizations who recognized his sheer hard work on the field. McCoy, who was once a high profiled athlete out of high school, has emerged to become one of the Volunteers leaders on the defensive side.
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Personal Life
Rico is a native of Washington, D.C. His family is from the Raleigh area while his father, Reggie Sr., is from Fuquay-Varina. His brother Reggie, also a defensive back, once suited up for Syracuse. Rico is the first Tennessee letterman from the District of Columbia since Lon Herzbrun in 1955-57. He majored in legal studies at the University of Tennessee.
In July of 2006, McCoy and fellow redshirt freshman Marsalous Johnson were stopped by police on Interstate 40 near Cookeville after allegedly waving a gun at an off-duty officer. McCoy was not charged in the incident.
High School
McCoy attended high school at St. Johns College in his hometown of Washington D.C. where he played first under coach Elliott Uzelac before coach Joe Patterson took over when he was a senior. A three-year starter for the Cadets, McCoy first played as a tailback when he was a sophomore before putting a lot of minutes on the linebacker spot in his last two seasons. He finished his junior year with 120 tackles and five sacks for an SJC team who started the year with a 6-0 record. As a senior, McCoy registered 118 tackles, eight tackles for loss, seven sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions in addition to eight rushing touchdowns to help the Cadets post a 7-3 regular season record. One of his highlights that year was a 16-tackle, 2-TD game in a thrilling 25-20 win over rival Gonzaga College High to cap the regular season. He was later named a first team all-conference, a Riddell All-America first team and USA Today second team All-USA pick in addition to being chosen as a two-time All-Metropolitan and recipient of the 2004 Gatorade Player of the Year for District of Columbia. He was also named captain for the East Squad at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.
College
Colleges who have shown early interest in McCoy include Ohio State, Miami (Fla.), Pittsburgh, Maryland, Syracuse and Boston College, with him picking Miami and Ohio State as his early favorites. By January of 2005, the two teams on top of his list boiled down to Tennessee and Ohio State and by the All-American Bowl, the 4-star rated linebacker eventually gave his commitment to play for the Vols.
2005
Redshirted. If not for a foot injury that required surgery, McCoy would've played as a true freshman.
2006
McCoy put on an impressive performance during the Orange & White Game, recording a game-high six solo tackles and one assist. Named, a Collegefootballnews.com Redshirt Freshman All-American, McCoy was poised to replace the spot left by 2005 starters Omar Gaither and Jason Mitchell at the outside LB position.
He made his collegiate debut against California, tallying two solo tackles in the 35-18 victory. He also had two solos against Air Force, had three in UT's first loss of the season against Florida, then had 2 and 3 tackles in triumphs over Marshall and at Memphis, respectively. He was limited to a season low 1 tackle in each of the Vols' three successive wins over Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina before putting up 2 each in losses to LSU and Arkansas. At Vanderbilt, starter Jerod Mayo sustained an injury which gave McCoy the chance to fill-in in the final three quarters, leading the Vols with eight tackles, including three for a 5-yard loss, with 1 forced fumble in the 39-10 victory. Mayo's injury also paved the way for McCoy's entry to the starting line-up for the first time in the regular season finale against Kentucky. He wound up with a team-leading 9 tackles (including seven on the special teams which tied for team honors with Ben Greene) with 1 pass break-up and 1 forced fumble in the 17-12 win. He continued to start in his postseason debut against Penn State at the Outback Bowl and had two solo tackles in a losing effort. He finished the year with 38 tackles and was named to the Coaches Freshman All-SEC team and in CollegeFootballNews.com's Freshman All-American third-team.
2007
By his sophomore year, McCoy was elevated to the regular starting spot, joining Mayo and Ryan Karl. He made his season debut at California and had 5 stops in the 31-45 loss. Against Southern Miss, McCoy led the team with 9 tackles and caught his first career interception (first by any Vol defender for the season) while breaking up a pass in the 39-19 win. At Florida, McCoy tied for the team lead in tackles (7) and had one pass deflection in the 20-59 defeat to the Gators. Against Arkansas State, McCoy was limited to a season low one stop and a pass break up in the 48-27 victory but managed to rebound with a career high 11 tackles in the 35-14 victory over Georgia. He once again paced the team in tackles (9) at MSU, which include one for a 2-yard loss in the 33-21 win. At Alabama, McCoy recorded his first career sack and finished with eight tackles in the 17-41 defeat to the Tide.
In the victory over South Carolina, McCoy had a career-high 14 tackles to lead the Vols and go over 100 tackles for his career. He also had one tackle for a 1-yard loss and a quarterback hurry against the Gamecocks. McCoy continued his consistent performance for the rest of the regular season, recording a team-leading 8 tackles against Louisiana-Lafayette, 6 stops against Arkansas, 11 tackles in the 1-point win over Vandy, then had 9 and 1 pass break up in the regular season finale at Kentucky. In the SEC Championship Game, McCoy finished with eight tackles, a forced fumble and a TFL in the 14-21 loss to LSU. McCoy was supposed to be a crucial contributor against Wisconsin at the Outback Bowl, however, he was one of the three starters that was ruled academically ineligible to play. Eventhough he had his season abbreviated, McCoy had 106 tackles (2nd in the team), 4.5 TFLs, 4 pass break-ups and 1 interception to earn for himself All-SEC recognitions from both the media and the coaches.
2008
In the Dish Network Orange and White game, McCoy started at the linebacking spot and led the first-team with seven tackles. He was also included in NationalChamps.net's preseason All-America honorable mention team.
Highlights
| Rico McCoy demonstrates a "spinebuster" on SMU quarterback Jeremy Young (2007). |
Career Stats
| Tackles | Tackles for Loss | Sacks | Interceptions | Misc | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Solo | Asst | Tot | Tot/G | TFL | Yds | TFL/G | Sack | Yds | Sck/G | Int | Yds | TD | Int./G | PBU | QBH | FF | K/P B |
| 2006 | 29 | 9 | 38 | 2.92 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.23 | 2.0 | 18 | 0.17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.08 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2007 | 48 | 58 | 106 | 7.57 | 4.5 | 15 | 0.32 | 1.0 | 1 | 0.07 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.07 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Achievements
2008
- Athlon Sports Preseason All-SEC First Team
- NationalChamps.net Preseason All-America Honorable Mention
- Phil Steele Preseason All-American Team
- Phil Steele Preseason All-SEC First Team
2007
- All-SEC Second Team (Coaches)
- Associated Press All-SEC second team
- Collegefootballnews.com Sophomore All-America First Team
- Phil Steele Third Team All-SEC
2006
- Collegefootballnews.com Redshirt Freshman All-America
- Collegefootballnews.com Third-team freshman All-America
- Freshman All-SEC Coaches
References
- 2004 Season Recap
- Player arrested for pointing toy gun at officer
- Rico McCoy cfbstats.com
- Rico McCoy Scout.com Profile
- Rico McCoy Tennessee Profile
- Scouting Report: Rico McCoy
- This McCoy looks for real
