Why Oklahoma State football LB Bryan McCoy sees Cowboys as perfect fit for final season

Posted by Admin January 15, 2025 Football

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STILLWATER — Though he lived his entire childhood on Chicago’s South Side, Bryan McCoy’s family has some country roots, too.

That’s why the former Akron linebacker sees Stillwater as an ideal location for his final year of college football.

Enough of a city feel to meet his needs, but also easy access to the country for his downtime hobbies.

“I like to hunt and fish, so it’ll be amazing for me to get out and be around some nature,” McCoy told The Oklahoman. “I love the city, but the space and the quietness that Stillwater brings will definitely help me project my career forward into the direction I want to go.”

McCoy, a 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker, was among the 31 new players to begin classes at Oklahoma State on Monday, joining 21 other transfer portal recruits, plus six junior college signees and three early enrollees from high school.

After a highly productive career at Akron, McCoy comes to OSU for his senior season, hoping to help kickstart the defensive rebuild under new coordinator Todd Grantham.

A little hunting and fishing on the side is just a bonus.

“My father grew up in the South originally but moved to Chicago at age 10 and he’s been there ever since,” McCoy said. “He liked to do that stuff, and he showed me videos and taught me about it when I was young, and I thought it was cool, so I couldn’t wait to do it myself.

“Stillwater is great for that. I like the space of it and the weather’s nice.”

While McCoy’s connection to the country is meaningful, his South Side upbringing has shaped who he is as a person on and off the football field.

“It gave me all the tools to thrive in life,” McCoy said. “It taught me great lessons about toughness and being hard-nosed and being focused when the pressure is high or when there’s other distractions going on.

“And mostly, it taught me how to not let my life shape my circumstances. Even when my circumstances are bad or not what I want it to be, I can still thrive in those areas.”

Out of high school, he had multiple college options, but settled on Akron because he saw an avenue for early playing time.

He played in 10 games as a true freshman, making three starts, but his career really took off the next season.

“That first year was great for me, because I saw what the game was like, I felt it,” he said. “It got me used to the speed. So going into the next season, I knew what to expect and I was way above the strength curve.

“I just let it rip from there.”

He led the Zips in tackles as a sophomore (95) and junior (120), becoming a fixture at middle linebacker and earning All-Mid-American Conference honors each year.

His final game at Akron was his most productive, finishing with 17 tackles against Toledo last November. But he’s had plenty of opportunities against Power 4 opponents and succeeded against those teams as well.

He had 12 tackles against Indiana as a sophomore and 11 against Rutgers as a junior. Going back to his freshman year when he was in a backup role, two of his most productive games were against Michigan State and Tennessee.

Seeing a chance to elevate his game at the Power 4 level, McCoy entered the portal and ultimately became one of the first transfer recruits after Grantham was hired in early December.

He’s one of three linebackers to come to OSU through the transfer portal this offseason, along with 6-foot-2, 240-pound Brandon Rawls of Saginaw Valley State and 6-2, 220-pound Trip McCoy from Mississippi.

McCoy believes his style of play fits perfectly with what Grantham wants to do.

“He wants to run an aggressive defense, a smart defense,” McCoy said. “It’s a defense with a level head and ready to attack. That’s the feel I get from him and I really like that.”