AUSTIN, Texas — Before Colt McCoy could play like himself this season, he had to feel like himself again.

For McCoy, the process meant realizing that he might not be ready to become the next Peyton Manning and finding inspiration from the Peruvian children he had met on mission trips.
McCoy enters Saturday’s AT&T Red River Rivalry with both his national title goal and Heisman hopes intact. Yet for some, winning hasn’t been enough this season, especially with the expectations.
One reason for McCoy’s slow start, a factor that has remained under the radar, was his attempt to incorporate suggestions from Manning, the cerebral Indianapolis Colts quarterback.
As a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy this summer, McCoy received the all-access tour of being Peyton Manning. A key, Manning told McCoy, was preparation — constantly taking notes and focusing on the mental game during film sessions and talks with coaches.
McCoy immediately put Manning’s insight into practice and found he was overloaded.
“You can definitely do that in a place like this with the expectations and pressures,” McCoy said. “You can almost watch too much film, take too much notes instead of going out there reacting and playing with the gifts you have. I’ve had to balance that.
“Peyton obviously is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. He obviously taught me a lot. At the same time, you have to develop that within yourself.”
It wasn’t like McCoy hadn’t spent hours on end watching film, by himself and with offensive coordinator Greg Davis.
This was just a different level of preparedness. Davis likens quarterback development to driver’s training. While McCoy had long ago gotten his license and progressed to the passing lane, Manning’s advice was the equivalent of being thrust into the first row of the Daytona 500.
“You can study so much film that you think you’re going to know everything they’re going to do every time,” McCoy said.
His completion percentage (73.4 percent) and yards per attempt (7.66) are down from his breakout 2008 season. He has already thrown six interceptions compared to eight all last season, although several have been tipped.
Now, McCoy may be starting to play to like everyone expected.
Beginning with the second half against Texas Tech, he has completed 75 of 92 passes (81.5 percent) in his last 10 quarters with five touchdowns. And he’s going to his third and fourth progressions more than any time in his career.
“I see him relaxing,” Davis said. “I think he went into the season and set his bar so high that it was almost impossible to attain. He wanted to be perfect every play. He’s playing more like himself.”
Coach Mack Brown could relate to McCoy’s situation with Manning.
He had studied veteran coaches when he first entered the business.
“What I learned is I could take some of their ideas, but I had to blend it with my personality,” Brown said. “You can’t be somebody else. That’s what Colt learned, too.
“He can take what Peyton’s done and how he’s done it and how he’s learned it ›ellipsisfl but he tries to get to the same place with a different method.”
McCoy emphasized during an interview that he wasn’t being critical of Manning, the camp experience or the advice. He still considers it a high point of his development and remains grateful for the opportunity.
What worked for Manning just wasn’t working for him.
Learning the opponent’s defense scheme was one thing. Knowing it well enough to call their plays was something else.
Plus, Texas had other concerns offensively.
The Longhorns’ top four receivers each moved to different positions from 2008, which means different roles and assignments.
The running game has been inconsistent.
McCoy was still in a bit of a funk through the first two games.
Then he remembered dedicating the 2008 season to Sgt. Grant Hinds, a cousin who had served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hinds, who battled post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return, had died in an auto accident.
Then McCoy thought about the children he had met in the Amazon basin on mission trips to Peru in 2008 and earlier this year. Under the most extreme hardships, they had remained upbeat and happy.
The week of the Texas Tech game, he decided to dedicate the season to those children. He had grown close to about five, ages 7 to 12. McCoy had even tried to teach them the basics of American football.
While he plans to write the children, letting them know about the decision, he knows that it’s doubtful that the letters ever will reach the remote villages.
“It gives me focus, and it puts a lot in perspective,” McCoy said. “I realize how blessed I am to be here. I realize how thankful I am to be in this position. I know how hard I work. I work harder than anybody else to be able to do the things I do and be as successful as I’ve been. I also know that God has truly blessed me and given me the opportunity to play.
“It’s not all about me. I want to have the same attitude that those kids have when they wake up every day, how thankful and appreciative they are for everything they have.”