McCoy, Orakpo Big 12’s best

In a season where Big 12 quarterbacks dominated the league, Texas’ Colt McCoy stood out in a crowd.

The junior set school passing records, led his team in rushing and had the Longhorns (11-1) sitting at No. 1 for about a month as he finally stepped out of Vince Young’s considerable shadow to become a top Heisman Trophy candidate.

McCoy’s season lifted a team that wasn’t expected to compete for a Big 12 title to one that still has an outside shot at playing for a national one. It earned him recognition from a panel of media on Wednesday as The Associated Press’ Big 12 offensive player of the year.

McCoy’s Texas teammate, defensive end Brian Orakpo, is the AP Big 12 defensive player of the year after recording 10½ sacks.

“I can’t imagine a player that means more to his team than Colt does to ours,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “(McCoy) has grown into one of the great leaders this school has had.”

The offensive newcomer of the year is Baylor freshman quarterback Robert Griffin. Oklahoma freshman linebacker Travis Lewis was voted top defensive newcomer.

McCoy and Orakpo won’t get to play for the Big 12 team title. The Longhorns were left out of the conference title game when the league tiebreaker sent Oklahoma to represent the South Division against Missouri from the North. That means two teams Texas beat on the field will play for the league title Saturday night in Kansas City.

McCoy’ regular-season performance ranks among the best in school history.

His 576 yards rushing led the Longhorns by 200 yards and his 10 rushing TDs rank second on the team. His 3,445 yards passing and 32 touchdowns are both school records and his 77.6 percent completion rate is on pace to smash the NCAA record.

“(My teammates) make everything easy for me,” McCoy said. “I’m blessed to have so many great guys and players around me.”

Orakpo was the outstanding player on a Texas defense that led the league in total defense and fewest points allowed under first-year coordinator Will Muschamp.