Longhorns prepare for Rice Game

When you look at Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby’s physical attributes and consider how vital they are to the 2008 Longhorn team as starting receivers, you’d probably get concerned.
Neither one of them is the NFL prospect that the great Roy Williams and Limas Sweed were. They literally don’t measure up in the height department with Shipley being the taller of the two at 6-feet-1-inch. Both have above-average speed for a wide receiver, but aren’t going to set the world on fire.
Offensive coordinator Greg Davis is anything but concerned. The veteran coach has lauded the duo’s leadership and production so far this season.
“They make up for anything they lack by working extra hard,” Davis said. “Both of them run great routes, are great leaders and have great hands. It makes it easier on us knowing we have guys like them that we can depend on.”
Cosby has 11 catches for 188 yards and two touchdowns so far this season while Shipley has caught seven passes for 83 yards. The duo combined for over 1,000 receiving yards last season as juniors and could double that this year.
Even Cosby will admit he’s not his listed height of 5-feet-11-inches. But Cosby’s lack of size didn’t stop him from going up in the air and snatching a 31-yard pass from a scrambling Colt McCoy in the first quarter of Texas’ win over UTEP.
“When people ask me how tall I am, I tell them it depends on how high the ball is,” Cosby said. “Jordan and I play taller than we are. Our passion makes up for our height.”
McCoy said that playing with Cosby and Shipley is like backyard football.
“We’ve been playing together for three years, so we really have developed a rhythm,” McCoy said. “Whenever there is a third-down situation, they know exactly what to do and I know how to get them the ball.”
Cosby and Shipley are also comfortable with each other. In an era of football when many players are self-centered and fighting for the spotlight, neither Cosby nor Shipley identifies themselves as the team’s No. 1 option at receiver. Both are friends off the field also.
“He’s a great friend and shows many qualities that draw me to him on the field and off,” Cosby said. “We have a lot in common in that we may not be the biggest in size, but [we] play with passion and are leaders.”
It’s an unlikely pairing. Shipley was a star receiver out of Burnet, Texas, where he played for his father Bob. Shipley got off to a slow start at Texas, redshirting his first year and missing all of the next season in 2005 with an injury.
Cosby went the pro baseball route after high school, forgoing his commitment to the Longhorns in 2001 after being two-time all-state in high school. He signed with the Anaheim Angels, playing minor league baseball for four years before arriving at Texas in spring 2005.
Cosby, now 25, is married and the father of two.
“Quan’s older than everybody else, so he knows a lot,” Shipley said. “It’s been a lot of fun playing with him and learning from him.”
One of the reasons Cosby decided to come back to Texas after pro baseball was Mack Brown’s wife, Sally. While still playing baseball Cosby ran into the blonde Sally Brown in the airport and to this day remembers how nice she was.
“Even though I didn’t choose to play for Texas, Ms. Sally was so nice and was really interested in how I was doing,” Cosby said. “You can tell she really cared.”
Shipley is appealing the NCAA for a sixth year since he missed all of 2005. Even though he played the entire season in 2006 and 2007, there was always some kind of minor injury or tightness hampering him.
Not this year.
“It feels great being healthy, and this season I feel like I’m 100 percent,” Shipley said. “Hopefully I can stay healthy and we can win a lot of ballgames.”
The future is uncertain for both. Neither is banking on a career in the NFL.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the NFL and it would be great if it happened,” Shipley said. “But I’m not thinking about that right now. My main worry is this season.”
Cosby, who is nine hours short of a degree in social work, will be finished by December 2009. Cosby has thought about either coaching or continuing on in social work.
“I love working with others and helping people so the social work program has given me a great opportunity to do that,” Cosby said. “UT has a great program.”
If either Cosby or Shipley go the coaching route, both can put this season on their resume. With freshman receivers like Malcolm Williams and Dan Buckner, as well as several other freshmen and sophomores, the duo has been like another set of coaches for the young receivers on the team.
“I help the younger players understand their roles,” Shipley said. “Some of them are not playing as much as they’d like to play, and Quan and I went through that same situation so it’s easy to guide them. The younger guys are doing a good job of learning and Quan and I are doing a good job of teaching.”
Cosby’s coaching goes beyond just the receivers.
“We have a lot of young defensive backs, so I give them pointers and help them out when I can,” Cosby said.
While the future is undetermined for Cosby and Shipley, Brown would love to hold onto the duo as long as possible.
“They’re really, really good leaders,” Brown said. “We’d like to have Jordan back for a sixth year and obviously hope that Quan can move on to the NFL when he graduates in December.”
And if the folks at the NFL combine have anything negative to say to Shipley and Cosby — it won’t be anything they are not used to.
“Not everybody is going to be 6-4,” Shipley said. “To me, it’s always been about effort rather than size or talent.”

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