Mike McCoy is a self-proclaimed perfectionist. Which suits the University of Utah football team and its supporters just fine.
So what if McCoy complains about playing "terrible" when he throws five touchdown passes in a 41-7 victory. So what if he doesn't feel worthy to talk to reporters after a mediocre outing. So what if McCoy never seems satisfied with his performance no matter how good it looks on the stat sheet.Even if McCoy hasn't quite played perfect for Utah this season, at least he's been perfect in the win department, leading the Utes to a flawless 8-0 record - tying the best start ever for a Utah football team.
For his performance during the first two months of the football season, McCoy is the Deseret News Athlete of the Month for both September and October.
Of course McCoy has had plenty of help this season, including a strong defense led by Luther Elliss, Bronzell Miller and Ernest Boyd, an outstanding tandem of receivers in Deron Claiborne and Curtis Marsh, and the emrgence of running back Charlie Brown.
Yet McCoy is clearly the Utes' most valuable player in 1994. Ask anyone associated with the Ute football program who is the one player they couldn't do without and they'd tell you it's McCoy.
Utah coach Ron McBride is about as high as anyone can be about McCoy, but he won't give you any superlatives about what a great arm he has or how accurate he throws. Instead he'll tell you about things like leadership and intelligence.
"He's a leader and he's smart. He knows what to do and when to do it," says McBride. "He's playing about as well as a guy can play that position. I think he deserves to be in the Heisman race."
Heisman race? A Heisman Trophy seems a little far-fetched and extremely unlikely for a player from a school with as little football tradition as Utah.
But stop for a moment and look at his numbers. McCoy ranks 6th in the nation in total offense and 4th in the nation in passing efficiency at 158.0.
He'd likely be No. 1 in efficiency if the players in front of him had thrown as many passes. No. 1 Kerry Collins of Penn State has thrown 100 fewer passes than McCoy, while No. 2 Kevin Mason of Syracuse has thrown less than half as many passes as McCoy.
In eight games, McCoy has completed 67.4 percent of his 257 passes for 2,236 yards, 20 touchdowns with just six interceptions.
In 1990 when BYU's Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy, he threw 41 touchdown passes, twice as many as McCoy now has, but he also threw 28 interceptions, nearly five times as many as McCoy has thrown. And Detmer's pass efficiency rating was lower (155.9) than McCoy's is this year.
But McCoy isn't likely to even get a sniff at the Heisman or any All-America honors even if the Utes continue to stay undefeated. And McCoy isn't likely to be the least bit bothered by the lack of attention, either.
"He's a great, but humble guy," says Ute center Lance Scott. "He goes out every week and plays great, but always gives someone else the credit."
That was the case last week when McCoy had perhaps his finest game of the season against UTEP, completing 25 of 36 passes for 391 yards and three touchdowns.
Afterward, all you could get from McCoy was talk about the protection his offensive line gave him, the superb running by Charlie Brown and the fine catches by his receivers.
"What I do depends on 10 other guys," says McCoy. "I've got to give all the credit in the world to my offensive line this year."
McCoy's humble style hasn't always endeared himself to the media, however. When he's being interviewed he acts like he's got a bus to catch. He sometimes gives the impression a root canal would be preferable to talking to reporters.
He surprised the media types when after throwing for five touchdowns against Wyoming earlier this year he called it "the worst performance of my career." Then after a so-so performance in a win over Hawaii, McCoy made a beeline out of the locker room and refused to talk.
"That's just my personality - I'm a perfectionist," he said. "I want to do everything right. Sometimes this year I've let the little things slip away."
Maybe McCoy is still trying to prove himself after being slighted by recruiters out of high school. Coming out of San Marin High School in California, McCoy was passed over by the major colleges, so he decided to walk on at Long Beach State where he started as a redshirt freshman.
When the 49er program was disbanded, McCoy finally got to experience the recruiting process he missed in high school. He narrowed his choices to Utah, Wyoming and Oklahoma State before deciding on Utah.
As a sophomore, McCoy filled in for injured Frank Dolce for a couple of games, losing that infamous game to UTEP, but coming back to direct Utah's first win at Air Force.
Last year, McCoy came on strong in the second half of the season to lead Utah to five wins in its last seven games and he finished the year No. 2 in the nation in total offense.
Then last spring, McCoy's future was suddenly up in the air when he had to undergo surgery to relieve a pinched blood vessel in his throwing shoulder. The surgery turned out to be more serious than first anticipated and McCoy had a rib removed to alleviate the problem.
After not throwing for several weeks, he started back up in the summer and claims to have had no problems since, saying "I'm perfectly fine."
Yet some folks wonder if he's lost some strength because of the lack of long passes thrown by the Utes this year. McCoy says Utah's passing attack is going according to plan.
"We take advantage of what the defense is giving us," he said. "They respect our speed, so we throw underneath. I'm willing to get five or six yards a pop."
While he may not have the strongest arm around, McCoy is as accurate as they come. He's not fast, but he has an uncanny knack for eluding sacks and he has picked up several big gains running out of the pocket. He also knows when to throw the ball away rather than risk interception and calls audibles at just the right times. With all those qualities, plus a 6-31/2 205-pound frame, McCoy looks like a natural for the NFL.
"He definitely has a future in the pros," says McBride, who calls McCoy one of the best he's ever coached in his 25 years in the business.
Former NFL and college coach Dick Vermeil said of McCoy while commentating on the Utah-Colorado State game, "He'll be playing a lot of Sundays" in the NFL.
"He's an excellent quarterback," adds Claiborne, who has caught more than 80 passes from McCoy the past two years. "He's got all the qualities for the next level. I don't think, I know."
Before all that, however, McCoy has a little business to finish up at Utah. With four more victories, he still has a chance for a little perfection this year.