University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt's Pro Football Pipeline Continues
4/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 25, 2009
Pitt's pro football pipeline continued today with the selection of tailback LeSean McCoy by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2009 NFL Draft.
The Eagles' selection of McCoy in the second round makes it 10 consecutive years that a Pitt player has been drafted.
McCoy (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt/Milford Academy) is an early NFL Draft entrant, declaring after an outstanding sophomore season. A unanimous first-team All-Big East selection, he rushed for 1,488 yards and 21 touchdowns on 308 attempts (4.8 avg.) this past year.
McCoy ranked second in the nation in scoring (tied, 9.69 points/game) and 10th in rushing (114.46 yards/game). He was voted Big East Offensive Player of the Year by a league media panel and named a second team All-American by SI.com and Rivals.com.
In just two collegiate seasons, McCoy rushed for 2,816 yards and scored 36 total touchdowns, both Pitt records for production as a freshman and sophomore. He broke the marks established by Pitt legends Tony Dorsett (2,690 yards in 1973-74) and Larry Fitzgerald (34 TDs in 2002-03). Fitzgerald, now a Pro Bowl receiver with the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals, is the last Panthers player to declare for the draft following his sophomore year.
"Don't be surprised to see him in Honolulu [in the NFL's Pro Bowl] in a few years," predicted Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo after McCoy rushed for 156 yards and three TDs in just three quarters of work in a Pitt victory over the Midshipmen this year.
In addition to his overall impressive production, McCoy established himself in Pitt lore with a pair of outstanding performances in the Panthers' victories over heated rival West Virginia the past two years.
As a true freshman in 2007, McCoy helped Pitt to a stunning 13-9 victory over the host Mountaineers, who were shooting for a berth in the BCS title game. McCoy ran for 148 tough yards against a defense laser-focused to stop him.
The 2007 WVU game is widely considered the biggest upset victory in Pitt football history.
This past season, playing in what would be his final home game, McCoy again helped upend the Mountaineers, rushing for a career-high 183 yards on 33 carries (5.5 avg.). He scored two touchdowns in the final eight minutes to lead the Panthers to a come-from-behind 19-15 victory.
On the game-winning drive, McCoy accounted for 55 of the 59 yards covered. He capped the final march with a one-yard burst with 52 seconds left. Just over seven minutes prior, McCoy had a five-yard scoring run to pull the Panthers to within 15-13.
Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard, who was the ABC color analyst for the 2008 WVU game, said McCoy is "like a lot of NFL backs that get better with more and more carries. LeSean McCoy has that NFL pedigree."
Another former NFL QB, Pat Haden, saw McCoy rush for 169 yards and a TD in the Panthers' four-overtime 36-33 win at Notre Dame this year.
"He bobs, he weaves. Look at the vision -- he sees things," said Haden. "They just don't do it much better than LeSean McCoy...he gets into high gear in about two steps."
