Vince Young


Vincent Paul Young Jr. is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League for six seasons, primarily with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, winning the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, and Manning awards in 2005 en route to a victory in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Young was selected by the Titans third overall in the 2006 NFL draft.
With the Titans, Young helped the team reach the playoffs in 2007 and made two Pro Bowl selections. Due to conflict with Titans management, he was released in 2010. Young spent his last season as a backup for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.

Early life

Young grew up in the 4th Ward and Hiram Clarke neighborhoods of Houston, Texas, where he was primarily raised by his mother and his grandmother. His father, Vincent Young Sr., missed much of Vince's college career due to a 2003 burglary conviction and prison sentence. Young credits his mother and grandmother for keeping him away from the street gangs. At the age of seven, Young was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle at the corner of Tidewater and Buxley, streets in his Houston neighborhood. The accident nearly killed him, leaving him hospitalized for months after the bicycle's handle bar went into his stomach. Today, he credits this event for making him into a "tougher" individual. Young wore the #10 to show love and respect for his mother, Felicia Young, whose birthday is June 10. Young attended Dick Dowling Middle School in Hiram Clarke. Some of Young's friends were a part of the "Hiram Clarke Boys", a local street gang; many of those friends died as a result of their activities. Young's mother confronted him after he had been involved in a fight between gangs, and told him that he needed to change his behavior.

High school career

Young was coached by Ray Seals at Madison High School in Houston, where he started at quarterback for three years and compiled 12,987 yards of total offense during his high school career. During his senior season, he led his Madison Marlins to a 61–58 victory in the 5A Regionals over the previously undefeated Galena Park North Shore Mustangs, accounting for more than 400 yards of total offense, while passing for three touchdowns and rushing for two more before a crowd of 45,000 in the Houston Astrodome. After beating Missouri City Hightower 56–22 in the state quarterfinals, Houston Madison faced Austin Westlake in the state semifinals. Although Young completed 18 of 30 passes for 400 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown, Houston Madison lost by a score of 48–42.
Among the honors Young received in high school were:
Young was also a varsity athlete in numerous other sports. In basketball, he played as a guard/forward and averaged more than 25 points per game over his career. This allowed him to be a four-year letterman and two-time all-district performer. In track and field, he was a three-year letterman and member of two district-champion 400-meter relay squads. In baseball, he played for two seasons, spending time as both an outfielder and pitcher. He also made the all-state team in football and in track.

College career

Young enrolled at the University of Texas, where he played for coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2002 to 2005. He was part of an exceptionally strong Texas recruiting class that included future NFL players Rodrique Wright, Justin Blalock, Brian Robison, Kasey Studdard, Lyle Sendlein, David Thomas, Selvin Young, and Aaron Ross. Young redshirted his freshman year.

2003 season

As a redshirt freshman during the 2003 season, Young was initially second on the depth chart behind Chance Mock. However, Mock was benched halfway through the season in favor of Young. After that game, Young and Mock alternated playing time. Young appeared in 12 games and passed for 1,155 yards, six passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions to go along with 135 carries for 998 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.

2004 season

As a redshirt sophomore in the 2004 season, Young started every game and led the Longhorns to an 11–1 season record, a top-five final ranking, and the school's first-ever appearance in the Rose Bowl, in which they defeated the University of Michigan. He began to earn his reputation as a dual-threat quarterback by passing for 1,849 yards and rushing for 1,189 yards. The Texas coaches helped facilitate this performance by changing the team offensive scheme from the more traditional I-formation to a shotgun formation with three wide receivers. This change gave the offense more options in terms of play selection, and consequently made defending against it more difficult.
Before his junior season, Young appeared on the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football alongside Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal.

2005 season: National Championship

As a redshirt junior in the 2005 season, Young led the Longhorns to an 11–0 regular-season record. The Longhorns held a number-two ranking in the preseason, and held that ranking through the season except for one week when they were ranked number one in the Bowl Championship Series. Texas won the Big 12 championship game 70–3 over Colorado and still held their number-two BCS ranking, which earned them a berth in the National Championship Rose Bowl game against the USC Trojans. Before the game, the USC Trojans were being discussed on ESPN and other media outlets as possibly the greatest college football team of all time. Riding a 34-game winning streak, including the previous National Championship, USC featured two Heisman Trophy winners in the backfield – quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush
In the 2006 Rose Bowl, Young accounted for 467 yards of total offense and three rushing touchdowns to lead the Longhorns to a 41–38 victory. This performance led to him winning Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player honors. Young finished the season with 3,036 yards passing and 1,050 yards rushing earning him the Davey O'Brien Award. He was also named the Longhorns MVP. He was named an All-American. In recognition of his Rose Bowl accomplishments, Young was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2018.
Early in his college career, Young had been criticized as "great rusher...average passer", and his unconventional throwing motion had been criticized as being "side-arm" as opposed to the conventional "over-the-top" throwing motion typically used by quarterbacks.
Young reached a win–loss record as a starter of 30–2, ranking him number one of all University of Texas quarterbacks by number of wins, although his successor, Colt McCoy, far surpassed him with 45. His.938 winning percentage as a starting quarterback ranks sixth-best in Division I history. Young's career passing completion percentage is the best in Texas history, 60.8%. During his career at Texas, Young passed for 6,040 yards and 44 touchdowns while rushing for 3,127 yards and 37 touchdowns. He was also number 10 on ESPN/IBM's list of the greatest college football players ever. In 2007, ESPN compiled a list of the top-100 plays in college football history; Young's game-winning touchdown in the 2006 Rose Bowl ranked fifth.
The University of Texas retired Young's number 10 jersey during the 2008 season-opening football game on August 30, 2008.

College statistics

List of accomplishments and records

  • Young was the first player in NCAA I-A history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.
  • Young owns five of the top seven single-game quarterback rushing performances in UT history: 267 yards vs Oklahoma State as a Junior; 200 yards vs USC as a Junior; 192 yards vs. Michigan as a Sophomore; 163 yards vs. Nebraska as a Freshman; 158 yards at Texas Tech as a Sophomore.
  • Young has six of the top 8 longest runs by a quarterback in UT history.
  • Young became the first player in UT history to pass and rush for 1,000 or more yards in the same season.
  • Young became the first quarterback in UT history to have three 100-yard rushing games in the same season and is tied with Ricky Williams for the third-most 100-yard games by a freshman in school history.
  • Young's 17 wins and 43 touchdowns accounted for in 2003–2004 were the most ever by a UT quarterback in their first two years. However, Colt McCoy surpassed both of these, accounting for 57 touchdowns and 20 wins in 2006–2007.
  • Young is a two-time winner of the Rose Bowl MVP award, joining Ron Dayne, Bob Schloredt, and Charles White as the only two-time winners.
  • He passed for 44 touchdowns
  • Rose Bowl Record & BCS Championship Game Record – Total yards
  • Rose Bowl Record – Touchdowns responsible for, tied by Mark Sanchez in 2009
  • Rose Bowl Record & BCS Record- Net rushing yards by a quarterback, broke his own record
  • Rose Bowl Record – Points responsible for, tied by Mark Sanchez in 2009
  • Bowl Record – Net rushing yards by a quarterback, tied by Dwight Dasher in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl, then surpassed by Johnny Manziel in the 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic
  • BCS Record – Total yards, surpassed by Tim Tebow in 2009
  • BCS Record – Touchdowns responsible for, tied Matt Leinart, tied by Mark Sanchez in 2009
  • BCS Record – Rushing touchdowns, tied Dominick Davis and Ron Dayne
  • BCS Record – Points Scored, tied Dominick Davis and Ron Dayne
  • BCS Record & BCS Championship Game Record – Most rushing yards per attempt
  • BCS Championship Game Record – Rushing yards
  • BCS Championship Game Record – Net rushing yards by a quarterback
  • BCS Championship Game Record – Rushing touchdowns, tied LenDale White in same game
  • BCS Championship Game Record – Pass completions
  • BCS Championship Game Record – Passes without an interception
  • BCS Championship Game Record – Completion percentage
  • BCS Championship Game Record – Points Scored, tied Peter Warrick
  • UT Record – Touchdown passes, season, tied with Chris Simms, surpassed by Colt McCoy
  • UT Record – Passing completion percentage, careers, surpassed by McCoy
  • UT Record – Total Offense, game
  • UT Record – Total Offense, season, surpassed by McCoy
  • UT Record – Total Offense, career, surpassed by McCoy
  • UT Record – Average gain per play, season
  • UT Record – Average gain per play, career
  • UT Record – Pass completion percentage, game against Colorado in 2005, surpassed by McCoy
  • UT Record – Pass completion percentage, career , surpassed by McCoy in 2009
  • UT Record – Wins by a quarterback, Career, surpassed by McCoy
  • UT Record – Longest run by a Quarterback
  • UT Record – Most rushing yards by a Quarterback, game, against Oklahoma State, broke his own record previously set against Michigan
  • UT Record – Most rushing yards by a Quarterback, career, also 5th best by any UT player
  • UT Record – Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, season, surpassed by Sam Ehlinger in 2018
  • UT Record – Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, career, also 4th best by any UT player
  • UT Record – Most games rushing and passing for more than 100 yards, career
  • UT Record – Most 300 yard total offense games, season, tied by and then surpassed by McCoy
  • UT Record – Most 300 yard total offense games, career, surpassed by McCoy
  • UT Record – Most 400 yard total offense games, season, tied by and then surpassed by McCoy
  • UT Record – Most 400 yard total offense games, career
  • UT Record – Most 500 yard total offense games, season
  • UT Record – Most 500 yard total offense games, career
  • UT Record – Most Offensive yards, game, against Oklahoma State on October 29, 2005, broke his own record
  • UT Record – Most 100 yard rushing games by a quarterback, season, tied his own record twice
  • Big 12 & UT Record – Passing efficiency, season, surpassed by Sam Bradford in 2007 for Big 12 and McCoy for UT
  • Big 12 & UT Record – Win/loss record as a starter of 30–2 gives him a.938 winning percentage as a starting quarterback. This also ranks sixth best in NCAA Division I football history.
  • Big 12 & UT Record – Yards per rush, career
  • In the Rose Bowl on January 4, 2006, the BCS National Championship, he completed 30 of 40 passes for 267 yards and carried the ball 19 times for 200 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. Those 200 rushing yards set a Bowl game rushing record by a QB. He was named Rose Bowl MVP for the second time in his career. UT beat USC by the score of 41 to 38 and Vince Young ran in the winning touchdown. In this game, UT ended USC's 34-game win streak. Young's 467 total yards set a new Rose Bowl record.