Josh McCown’s Son Becomes Third QB to Start for Colorado This Season

Owen McCown made his first collegiate start Saturday in the Buffaloes’ home game against UCLA.

After struggling to generate offense through the first three games, Colorado elected to make yet another change under center in hopes of sparking some momentum.

Freshman quarterback Owen McCown, the oldest son of former NFL QB Josh McCown, made his first collegiate start Saturday in the Buffaloes’ home game against UCLA (3–0). The former three-star recruit replaced J.T. Shrout as QB1 after Colorado fell to Minnesota, 49–7, on Sept. 17 in the Tennessee transfer’s first start; McCown is the third starting QB the team has deployed this season.

After logging a team-high 52 passing yards in relief of Shrout last week, McCown took the field looking to lead Colorado to its first win of the season. So far, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound newcomer has managed a solid start but Colorado has been unable to find much team success. McCown has completed 12-of-21 for 145 yards, and rushed two yards for his first touchdown near the end of the second quarter as Colorado currently trails UCLA, 21–10, at halftime.

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The 2022 season has been a rough one for the Buffaloes after dropping its first three games in blowout fashion. Returning starter Brendon Lewis opened the season under center and mustered up just 78 yards before getting replaced by Shrout during a 38–13 loss to TCU. In Week 2, Shrout, who passed for 157 yards a week prior, logged just 51 yards in a lopsided 41–10 loss to Air Force; he followed that effort with a 24-yard, one-TD performance against Minnesota before getting replaced by McCown. 

While it remains to be seen how the freshman fares, Colorado hopes McCown’s skillset and pedigree bring much needed change. For his career, Josh McCown, who played college football at SMU and Sam Houston State, played 18 NFL seasons and had 17,731 passing yards and 98 touchdowns.