The wind was brutal at Royal-Memorial Stadium, blasting at near gale force speeds. If it had been any other spring practice, Texas coach Mack Brown would have ordered his team to work inside the practice bubble, safely out of the elements.
But Sunday was the annual orange-white scrimmage, with 44,000 fans on hand.
"Obviously, it wasn't a quarterback-friendly day,"
Brown said.
The blustery North wind turned All-American Colt McCoy, who set an NCAA record for pass completion percentage in 2008, into a mortal quarterback. The Texas defense also played a hand in stopping him during the orange team's 21-7 win.
McCoy, who completed nearly 77 percent of his passes in 2008, was only 11 of 24 for 95 yards. At least four of his incompletions were dropped by his receivers.
McCoy led the Longhorns to two touchdowns on nine series. Both scores came on running plays from Vondrell McGee and Fozzy Whittaker.
Backup Sherrod Harris completed only one pass out of six attempts. He directed the offense's final touchdown drive, which culminated in McGee's 1-yard plunge - his second touchdown of the game - with 38 seconds to play.
"I think the defense won,"
said safety Earl Thomas.
When told of McCoy's final stat line against the first-team defense, Thomas said: "I think that's a great accomplishment."
The defense got on the scoreboard when Thomas stepped in front of receiver Brandon Collins and returned McCoy's pass for 35 yards. Backup safety Nolan Brewster also had an interception of Harris, which he returned for 34 yards.
"We didn't have many big plays,"
said Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. "That was a big emphasis for us."
Overall, the defense limited the offense to 188 yards on 64 plays in a 1-hour, 46-minute scrimmage. Star defensive end and linebacker Sergio Kindle didn't play, with coaches opting to rest him rather than risk an injury. Freshman Alex Okafor, who enrolled a semester early, started in place of Kindle.
Muschamp was displeased with one play, when McCoy showed the savvy that made him last year's runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
It was fourth-and-17 on the final drive of the third quarter, and Brown ordered his offense to stay on the field for a situational-type play.
Muschamp's defense was using a two-deep zone. McCoy dropped back and searched for a receiver in the middle of the field. His first three choices were covered, and on the fourth read, he threw a dart to James Kirkendoll for a 24-yard completion.
McCoy shook off his unusually sub-par stat line. "I'm not worried about that at all,"
he said.
Offensive coordinator Greg Davis also shrugged off the incompletions thrown with and against a wind gusting at 33 mph. "I wish it would have been better, but it's not a huge concern,"
he said.
The Longhorns scored all their offensive touchdowns out of the I-formation, which has been used rarely since Texas went to the shotgun as its base in 2003.
Texas even added a twist to the I, with Kirkendoll running an end-around out of it for 12 yards. Davis said the last time they used the play was at the 2006 Alamo Bowl.
Whittaker, the second-team back, was the leading rusher with 32 yards on 10 carries. His 14-yard run was the longest of the day.
McGee, the starter, had 20 yards on eight carries.
Collins and Kirkendoll each had three catches.
