Ready to prove he's the real McCoy

Southeast's highly touted defensive back will hit the field this season after being ineligible last year.

Charles McCoy entered Southeast Missouri State's football program in 2004 with perhaps more hype than any player in recent Redhawks history -- and maybe ever.

Now, a year later, he is finally back to practicing again and nearing the time when he can make his game debut at Southeast, which opens the season Sept. 1 at home against Southern Illinois.

"It's exciting to be back out here, and I'm ready to get the season going," McCoy said.

McCoy chose Southeast over defending national champion USC and Nebraska -- more on that later -- after an All-American career at Santa Monica (Calif.) Community College, causing Southeast coach Tim Billings to gush at the time, "He's the most highly recruited kid to ever play here."

The only problem was, McCoy never got a chance to do that. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound cornerback began preseason practice with the Redhawks last year, but the university soon discovered a problem with his junior college transcripts.

After some appeals to the NCAA were denied, McCoy was ruled ineligible for the 2004 season. He couldn't even practice with the team nor could he participate in this year's spring drills.

"It was very frustrating," McCoy said. "I thought everything was fine [with his eligibility], then I found out I couldn't play.

"It was a helpless feeling, but things happen for a reason. I just basically worked out and went to school."

An unusual road

The story of how McCoy -- nicknamed "Twin" because he has an identical twin brother -- wound up at Southeast after being pursued by two of the nation's prominent programs is unusual to say the least.

A native of Tallahassee, Fla., McCoy was a high school standout who attracted plenty of recruiting interest, but he got married, which changed his outlook considerably.

"I got a job and supported my family," he said.

For the next three years, McCoy worked and did not play any kind of organized football. But his love for the sport never waned -- and then he received a call.

"Someone I knew wanted me to go to California and play football," McCoy said.

McCoy was off to Santa Monica Community College, where he blossomed into a junior college All-American.

Marshall connection

One of Billings' former players from his assistant coaching days at Marshall was on the coaching staff at Santa Monica Community College and alerted Billings to the impressive talent, so Billings and his staff became the first four-year program to begin recruiting McCoy.

"We were in on him early," Billings recalled.

Which would prove vital, because Southeast's coaches had already formed a strong bond with McCoy by the time USC and Nebraska began courting him hard prior to the 2004 signing period.

McCoy said that early relationship with Southeast's staff ultimately led him to Cape Girardeau.

"They had been on me from the start. Several of their coaches came out to see me, and I was really impressed when coach Billings came," McCoy said. "It was kind of tempting [when USC and Nebraska recruited him], but I'm not really into all that fame and glory.

"I just wanted to get a good education and be some place where I could play. My wife and I both liked it here when we came to visit."

Despite the way things worked out last year, McCoy said he has no regrets about signing with Southeast, nor did he ever think about leaving when things got tough.

"My wife [Stephanie, who works at Saint Francis Medical Center] loves it here, and so do I," McCoy said. "I never thought about leaving. I've come this far ... it was no time to turn around."

Working his way up

After missing the entire 2004 season -- games and practices -- and not being able to participate in spring drills, McCoy now finds himself third on the current depth chart at one cornerback spot.

Billings said McCoy will have to fight his way up the list in a deep secondary that the coach believes is one of the Redhawks' strengths after the injury-plagued unit struggled last year. He believes McCoy is still talented enough to do just that.

"He's rusty right now, and we've got a lot of players who know the system," Billings said. "He'll have to work to get his spot, but he's working hard. We still feel like he can really help us."

The personable McCoy, who admittedly is shaking off some rust from his layoff, does not appear to be discouraged by his lot on the pecking order among Southeast cornerbacks.

"I love competing. It's what I do," he said, smiling. "Competition is always good."

As for trying to live up to the hype that accompanied him when he originally joined Southeast's program, McCoy said he doesn't even think about that.

"I just come out and play my game," he said. "I let my play speak for itself."