Swap-ee finds new life, glory on college football field at a cost

The 2006 Alamo Bowl champions, the Texas Longhorns, may not have won their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes, which was a 26-24 squeaker, were it not for a fortuitous swap. Despite a short-term benefit, however, the swap has ended the career of one of Texas' hottest young university prospects.

Colt McCoy, a redshirt freshman quarterback, suffered a "vicious, stadium-hushing tackle" in a Nov 24 game against Texas A & M, and when back-up quarterback Jevon Snead announced he would be leaving the team, the Longhorns were left without a starter in their bowl game against Iowa. On Nov 21, McCoy, 20, was cleared to play, but on Dec 29, the eve of the game, McCoy experienced what is now known to have been a swap.

"That night we were all partying pretty hard, and then he just... went cold," said one teammate, "He just got really quiet and maybe a little dizzy, and then he went out like a light." It was doubted whether McCoy would withstand the pressure put on him to perform, even with the Longhorns a favourite by 11.

What could not have been known, and would not have been understood, was that at that moment the real Colt McCoy was many miles away in Norman, Oklahoma, resting in a reclining chair. The man they were with was 73-year-old Alvin Walker, who, in his youth, was a quarterback for the Longhorn's rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners.

Though disoriented at first, Walker "played along" and completed two touchdown passes, "McCoy's" 28th and 29th, tying the freshman record set by Nevada's David Neill in 1998.

"It was like a dream, some wonderful dream in slow motion," Walker told reporters cryptically after accepting the MVP trophy he earned while wearing McCoy's jersey, "I'm not sure what's happened here, but if this is heaven, I'm glad to be here, even if it is Texas."

The story, while inspiring for some, is heartbreaking for others. McCoy, looked at as the finest quarterback of his age, will now sadly see his career cut short as a victim of the mysterious phenomenon, the cause of which is unknown. The McCoy family declined to comment, but Walker says he has made it his priority to honor McCoy.

"Neither of us understands what has happened here," Walker said, "But I certainly wouldn't have wished it on this young man and hope there is some way to go back on it. It must sound crazy, but if this is the price, I'd rather leave youth for the young."

Walker is currently vacationing in Portugal, in his words, to "find some clarity." He and his wife Honeymooned there in 1950, and visited it again shortly before her death in 2005. McCoy is currently in the care of his 23-year-old cousin, a geriatrics worker from Abilene, Texas.