Two former Jacksonville High School teammates are reunited as senior quarterback Josh McCown joins the SHSU football team this semester.McCown made the decision to transfer from Division I Southern Methodist University to Sam Houston largely due to the advice and recruiting skills of former high school teammate and friend, Charrod McCullough. Both McCullough and McCown went to high school in Jacksonville, Texas.”Charrod got me started talking to me about Sam. He was really excited; he was telling me that the team was going to be good, and the school wasn’t far from home,” McCown said.After playing for three years as the starting quarterback at SMU, McCown said he felt it was time for a change. McCown chose SHSU over Northwest Louisiana and Southwest Texas. “They were both a little farther away from home than I wanted to go. I wanted to go somewhere in the Southland Conference to be close to my family,” McCown said. “It is a unique situation because I wasn’t transferring because I wasn’t playing; I wasn’t having fun and I wanted to have fun and have a chance to win,” McCown said. “Leaving SMU crossed my mind a few times before, but I didn’t want to give up or be a quitter. We thought that we would eventually be better, and they may be next year, but over the past three years we haven’t gotten any better. I just wanted to take a chance,” McCown said.McCown started five of eight games last season for SMU, he threw for 1,969 yards and nine touchdowns.Although McCown is aware he hasn’t been promised a starting position, he is looking forward to earning the spot. “I’m just going to come in and work hard and do my best to help the team and let the coaches decide,” McCown said. “I need to hopefully win the job as the starter.” “It’s not really individual goals I want to accomplish, I want to win conference and hopefully a national championship. I look at it like there is a lot of little goals in there that come with winning those things,” he said.McCown is the middle brother in a family filled with quarterback standouts. His older brother Randy, who played quarterback at Texas A&M now plays arena football for The Houston Thunderbolts. His younger brother, Luke, who plays at Louisiana Tech was just named “Freshman of the Year” among college athletes in Louisiana.”I’ve learned a lot from my older brother. I always say that I’m the luckiest one because I can learn from my older brother and help my younger brother and learn from that at the same time,” McCown said. He said his family was very supportive of his decision to transfer to Sam. “I like it, coming from a small town I can relate. I like small towns,” McCown said.McCown is a history major and political science minor, however, he plans on coaching high school football after graduation. “I would like to continue on playing (after college) if it works out, but if not I want to coach,” he said.”I like the team a lot, they’re a lot like the guys at SMU, they’re really friendly and it made it easier for me coming in.””I’d be happy anywhere because I make the best out of anything I do. This transition will change my life from the aspect of people I’ll meet, and I’ll also be able to get certified and teach. I’m excited about it.” McCown said.
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