He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, earning consensus All-American honors twice and finishing third runner-up in the 1951 Heisman Trophy voting.

McColl attended Hoover High School in San Diego, where the quick 6′4″, 210-pound (193 cm; 95 kg) youth was a multi-sport athlete, starring in baseball, basketball, track and field, and football.

[3] Despite his academic schedule, he still helped to lead the Stanford junior varsity football team to an undefeated 5–0 record in 1948, including a 30–0 defeat of arch-rival Cal.

In his debut performance, finding the end zone on a nine-yard jump pass from Stanford Indians quarterback Gary Kerkorian[9] in the third quarter while shining as a defensive star.

[11] The move proved successful and the 217-pounder (98 kg) was named as one of 11 members of the All-Pacific Coast football team by the International News Service, which reckoned him "one of the brightest sophomore ends to come along in a good many years.

[12] Stanford would finish the season in third place in the Pacific Coast Conference with a 7–3–1 record, hitting #12 in the penultimate Associated Press Top 20 poll.

[17] Barely slowed by a broken nose in pre-season practice,[18] in September McColl scored a game-winning touchdown on a 28-yard option pass from halfback Harry Hugasian, en route to a 27–20 victory over the University of Oregon.

[19] An impressive win over the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in front of more than 57,000 fans followed, with the Kerkorian-to-McColl combination reckoned to be the deciding factor in a 23–13 victory.

He was recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame with a humanitarian award for his service and was voted one of the 10 Outstanding Young Men of America in 1964 by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce.

In 1970, McColl ran in the Republican primary for a special election to fill California's 24th Congressional District in the eastern Los Angeles County region.

He had moved to the Pasadena-Burbank-Glendale area, and he ran for the 20th Congressional District seat that was being vacated by retiring Republican Congressman Allen Smith.

[26] McColl married the former Barbara Blanche Bird at Beverly Hills, California, in December 1953, and the couple returned to make a home in Chicago.