The weekend at Pitt just got bigger as a former great will make a return to Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Sports Now has learned that former Pitt great LeSean McCoy will serve as the honorary captain for Saturday’s game against Clemson. McCoy recently announced his retirement from the NFL. Because of his pro career, McCoy hasn’t made many appearances back in Pittsburgh so this is big for Pitt to be able to have one of their former greats back in the stadium for such a big game.
“Shady” finished his career with 2,457 carries for 11,102 yards (4.5 yds/carry) and 73 rushing touchdowns. McCoy also got it done as a receiver as he collected 518 catches for 3,898 yards and 16 touchdowns.
LeSean McCoy during the 2010’s: ▫️Rushing yards: 10,434 rushing yards (most in NFL) ▫️Scrimmage yards: 13,923 (most amongst RB) ▫️Total touches: 2,755 (most in NFL) ▫️Total touchdowns: 85 (most amongst RB) ▫️Fantasy points: 2,341.3 (most amongst RB)
With so many productive seasons, McCoy was selected to the Pro Bowl six times and named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade team for the 2010’s.
Prior to his stardom in the NFL, McCoy got things started in college at Pitt and was one of the biggest gets for the Pitt football program as Dave Wannstedt and his staff won a national recruiting battle in 2007 to bring him to Pittsburgh.
During his freshman season, McCoy was used a lot in the Wildcat offense and in 12 games, he rushed 276 times for 1,328 yards (4.8 yards/carry) and 14 rushing touchdowns. McCoy also caught 33 passes for 244 yards and 1 touchdown. McCoy started the season as a backup to LaRod Stephens-Howling but took over for good when Stephens-Howling went down with an injury. His career-high game was against Michigan State when he rushed for 172 yards. Shady’s biggest moment as a freshman was no doubt when the 28-point underdog Panthers upset No. 2 ranked West Virginia in the 100th Backyard Brawl. McCoy rushed for 148 yards in that memorable game.
In his sophomore season of 2008, McCoy improved upon his freshman season as he rushed for 1,488 yards on 308 carries and scored 21 rushing touchdowns. He also averaged 9.5 yards per catch (32 receptions for 305 yards).
Following that season, after initially saying he would return to Pitt, McCoy changed his mind and announced he would be leaving school early and declaring for the NFL Draft.
During his 12-year career, McCoy’s career earnings were over $63 million.
