It was 10 years ago, but LeSean McCoy remembers it like it was yesterday. He still can recall the day when Barry Sanders, a superstar in his prime, abruptly retired from football on July 27, 1999.
Lions fans scratched their heads. Fantasy owners headed for the nearest bridge. And McCoy? Well, he likes to tell the story himself.
“When he retired, I started crying,” said the Eagles’ rookie running back, who was just 11 years old at the time. “My mom was like, ‘What’s going on? What happened? Did you do something wrong in school or something?’ And I said, ‘No, he retired.’ She didn’t understand what I was saying, but then she turned on the TV and Barry Sanders was on there for his retirement. So, that sums up the story for how much I loved him when I was a little kid.”
A native of Harrisburg, McCoy loved Sanders so much as a kid that he rooted for the Lions rather than backing the Eagles or Steelers. It was a strange affinity for someone from central Pennsylvania, but when you look back on it now, it seemingly made all the sense in the world.
“(I remember him) shaking seven defenders. (He would) cut on a dime, make it look so easy,” McCoy recalled, smiling as he conjured up images of No. 20 in his head. “You’re talking about one of the best. So much comes to mind when you think about him — just the way he cut, the way he perfected his game.”
McCoy acknowledged that one of his new teammates, Brian Westbrook, has a little bit of Sanders in him as well.
“I’m blessed to have a superstar running back on my team to learn from,” McCoy said. “Westbrook catches the ball a bit more (than Sanders did), but they have a similar game — short, quick, make moves out of nowhere — so he definitely compares.”
Of course, at this point, Eagles fans are already familiar with Westbrook’s skill set. The question at this point is, does McCoy have some Sanders in him?
“It’s a gift that I’m blessed to have,” McCoy said when asked how he’s able to change direction on a dime. “I just feel it and see it. I just do it.”
Not surprisingly, the former Pitt star believes he got to this point by watching “all those Barry Sanders clips.” Of course, back in 1989, Sanders was the third overall pick in the draft. This past April, McCoy was the 53rd overall choice.
Motivation, anyone?
“I felt that my talent was a first-round talent,” said McCoy, who rushed for more than 2,700 yards in his two collegiate seasons. “Not going in the first round made me think what would have happened if I did this or I did that. So I’m just trying to pay it back by working hard every day to show people I should have gone in the first round.”
Still, the 21-year-old acknowledged that sometimes it’s better to slide down the draft board if it means ultimately ending up in a more favorable situation.
“That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t care that much where I got drafted,” McCoy conceded. “I’m right at home. Everybody (in Harrisburg) is a huge Eagles fan and it’s right down the street. I could never ask for a better running back, better team and a better quarterback. And Coach Reid, he’s a good coach. … So I’m pretty happy with the situation that I’m in right now.”
