Horns ‘Old Man' Cosby at end of college road

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Quan Cosby has been the "old man" of Texas since his first day in college.

That's because he was already older than most of his Longhorns teammates before he played even his first game.

A standout quarterback and state champion sprinter in the Texas high school ranks, Cosby originally signed with Texas in 2001, then took a long and winding detour through minor league baseball.

Four years later, he was a freshman when the Longhorns won the 2005 national championship. And when No. 3 Texas (11-1) plays No. 10 Ohio State (10-2) on Monday night in the Fiesta Bowl, Cosby will end his college career as a 26-year-old married father of two and one of the top pass catchers in Longhorns history.

For him, it's hard to believe his long-delayed college football career is finally coming to an end.

"Somebody else will have to be the old man now," said Cosby, who also hears the term "Grandpa" thrown around on occasion.

"I call him ‘Social Security,"' said running back Chris Ogbonnaya, himself a fifth-year senior who is still three years younger than Cosby. "It won't be long before he starts getting his assistance checks from the government."

Teasing like that comes with the territory when you were graduating high school while some of the youngest of your current teammates were still in elementary school.

Cosby's long route to this point started at tiny Mart High School, just outside of Waco. A standout in football, baseball and track, he was a two-time all-state quarterback. He also was an all-state defensive back. In track, he won state titles in the 100 meters and the 200 meters.

Cosby was such a highly touted prospect that when he asked offensive coordinator Greg Davis just how he would be used in the offense, Davis went out of his way to draw up some complicated color-coded charts with pass patterns.

It was impressive, but not enough to catch Cosby - yet.

While football was his first love, baseball had the lure of money. A contract with the Los Angeles Angels and a reported $825,000 signing bonus sent the outfielder to the far reaches of the minor leagues.

A .260 career batting average, sweaty afternoons in hot dugouts and long summer nights spent dozing on long bus rides had him ready to play football again.

Cosby kept his eye on the Longhorns, though. Because he had never enrolled at Texas, he was able to return as a freshman in 2005 when he decided he'd had enough of baseball. He caught 15 passes for 270 yards that season and started in Texas' 41-38 Rose Bowl win over Southern California.

That was just the beginning of a career so solid and steady that he now ranks second in Texas history with 198 catches, third most receiving yards (2,427) and fourth in touchdowns (17). Cosby and quarterback Colt McCoy are the most prolific pass-catch duo in school history.

This season, Cosby has 78 catches for 952 yards and eight TDs.

"Quan is Mr. Consistent," McCoy said. "When the pocket breaks down, I always know where Quan is going to be."

Four seasons in baseball's minor leagues taught him how to approach sports like a professional. Some of his skills on the diamond even translated to the gridiron.

It was chasing fly balls off a bat that taught him how to turn on a dead run to find the ball and extend his body for a catch, just he did on a wildly acrobatic touchdown catch in a 28-24 win over Oklahoma State when Texas was still ranked No. 1.

"One of the best I've seen," coach Mack Brown said.

Cosby traces much of his success to a series of good - and probably lucky - decisions early in life and not just baseball. None was more critical than the one he made when he was about 14.

One of four children in a poor, single-parent home, Cosby was a rough-and-tumble ninth grader who sensed he needed more stability in his life to stay out of trouble. That's when he brought up the idea of moving in with a classmate's family who gave him the structure of daily rules and took him to church on Sundays, opening up a spiritual connection he continues to embrace.

"It's what I needed," he said. "They introduced me to church. That was the best thing ever."

Cosby has his own family now. He and wife Stasia have two pre-school age children. Juggling family and football at a powerhouse program like Texas can be tough.

"They want a lot of your time with football, understandably because they're paying for you education," Cosby said. "The reason Stasia is my better half is because she's an amazing mom. She takes care of our girls mostly all day."

Cosby is set to graduate in May with a degree in social work. Now that his college days are finally coming to an end, he hopes that even as a smallish receiver at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, he can play in the NFL.

But even then, age would be a factor. There aren't a whole lot of 26-year-old rookies.

"I want to keep playing this game until God doesn't want me to any more," Cosby said. "Hopefully, that's not anytime too soon."