McCoy and Bradford share similar stories in high school and college, but in the NFL, Bradford is the top overall pick expected to open the season as a starter, while McCoy is a third-round pick being slowly groomed by the Browns.
View full sizeBrowns rookie and former Texas Longhorns QB Colt McCoy, above, and Rams rookie and former Oklahoma Sooners QB Sam Bradford became friends during their college careers and will share the field Saturday at Cleveland Browns Stadium. BEREA, Ohio — Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners aren't supposed to get along, but Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, who arrives Saturday with the St. Louis Rams, are good friends.
They met three times on the field -- McCoy winning twice -- but got to know each other off camera at the 2008 Heisman Trophy ceremony. Bradford won it. They've kept in touch ever since.
"We both kind of have the same story," McCoy said. "He's from a smaller school in Oklahoma City. Played all sports. I did the same thing [in Texas]. We weren't highly recruited coming out of high school. We went to our in-state schools. Kind of a cool story."
The NFL chapters of their stories have different subplots, of course. Bradford was the No. 1 pick of the 2010 draft and signed with St. Louis for $50 million guaranteed. McCoy, the 85th overall pick, got slightly more than $1 million in guarantees.
Bradford is expected to play after journeyman A.J. Feeley on Saturday, but everybody in St. Louis expects him to open the season as the team's starting quarterback. McCoy is competing with Brett Ratliff for the Browns' No. 3 job.
"I think we're all in different situations," McCoy said. "He's the first pick in the draft. He's getting paid a lot of money and he's going to have to go out there and play. We all want to play. He gets to.
"It'll be fun to watch him this weekend, and I'll be pulling for him all year. I know it's probably going to be tough. Anytime you have a rookie quarterback starting, playing, it'll be tough. There's a lot of things you have to learn, a lot of respect you have to earn from teammates. I'm definitely pulling for him and hoping for the best."
Window of opportunity: Scott Kooistra's signing in December was one of those transactions that hardly gets noticed during a losing season. Now it looks like a deft pickup.
Kooistra, a backup lineman in Cincinnati for seven seasons, is a life preserver for an area of the line drowning in camp injuries. He'll probably start at right tackle Saturday against St. Louis.
The Browns have been without their top two right guards and tackles all week. Rookie Shawn Lauvao has been excused for personal reasons, Floyd Womack is out with a knee issue, Tony Pashos has missed substantial time with a shoulder injury and John St. Clair missed most of the week with an undisclosed injury. Pashos and St. Clair returned for Thursday's evening practice.
Kooistra, who has one NFL start at left guard, said he's versatile enough to play every position but center. He played left tackle with the second unit in the Green Bay game.
"If you get the opportunity to go in and show them you can handle the responsibility of starting, that's what you do," Kooistra said. "I'm just looking to show I can compete and get the job done."
On Lauvao: Lauvao is still out with an excused absence. Coach Eric Mangini originally said he expected Lauvao back from his home in Hawaii by early next week. But Thursday he said: "In terms of schedule, it's hard to explain without explaining it. I'm not sure where it's going to go right now. We just have to see. I wish I could tell you more, I just really can't."
Lauvao is now the projected starter at right guard because of Womack's injury. Lauvao was replaced this week by Billy Yates.
Brownie points: Mangini said he expected his starters to play through the first half against the Rams. Quarterback Seneca Wallace will see some time with the No. 1 offense, the coach said. . . . GM Tom Heckert insisted in an appearance on SportsTimeOhio that rookie back Montario Hardesty has not suffered a setback in his recovery from a pre-camp knee injury. Heckert and Mangini are hopeful Hardesty will join the team in practice for the first time next week. . . . Thursday marked the end of two-a-day practices and also the end of practices open to the public, but Mangini said the official end of training camp is "near" but not yet at hand. Mangini also thanked the fans for their "fantastic" attendance and support at camp.
Wash out your mouth: The salty language Jets coach Rex Ryan uses in episodes of HBO's "Hard Knocks" prompted a phone call from Ryan's mother and rebuke by former Colts coach Tony Dungy.
Mangini said: "My mom would probably call me, too, if she heard some of the things that were said. I don't think I'm in a position to judge anybody else's language."
Video: Tony Grossi and Mary Kay Cabot on the final day of training camp 