Vincent Paul Young Jr. (born May 18, 1983) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) 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.
In his first season, Young won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the Pro Bowl. Young helped the team reach the playoffs the following year and received a second Pro Bowl selection in 2009. 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 (on 18 carries) and a touchdown, Houston Madison lost by a score of 48–42.
Among the honors Young received in high school were: being named Parade's and Student Sports' National Player of the Year after compiling 3,819 yards and 59 touchdowns as a senior, being named 2001 Texas 5A Offensive Player of the Year, designation as The Sporting News's top high-school prospect, and the Pete Dawkins Trophy in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
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 the game against Oklahoma) 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 (losing to rival Oklahoma in a shutout), 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 (2004 Heisman winner) and running back Reggie Bush (2005 Heisman winner)
In the 2006 Rose Bowl, Young accounted for 467 yards of total offense (200 rushing, 267 passing) and three rushing touchdowns (including a 9-yard touchdown scramble on fourth down with 19 seconds left) 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. During his career at Texas (2003–05), Young passed for 6,040 yards and 44 touchdowns while rushing for 3,127 yards (first on Texas's all-time QB rushing list and number seven on Texas's all-time list) and 37 touchdowns (number five on Texas's all-time rushing touchdowns list and tied for first among quarterbacks). 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.
Professional career Pre-draft Throughout the 2005 season Young had indicated that he planned to return to the University of Texas for his senior year in 2006. The day after Texas won the BCS National Championship, Young accepted an invitation to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. When Leno asked Young whether he would stay for his senior year of college or declare for the 2006 NFL Draft, Young replied that he would discuss the matter with his pastor, his family, and coach Mack Brown. On January 8, 2006, Young announced he would enter the NFL draft, where he was expected to be drafted early in the first round. Even after his Rose Bowl performance, some observers said he may have difficulty in the NFL because of his unorthodox sidearm throwing motion and the different style of play in the NFL.Chadiha, Jeffri No Sure Thing Sports Illustrated March 2, 2006.
The Saints, who held the second overall pick, were likely to pass on drafting a high-rated quarterback after Drew Brees signed with the team as a free agent. Though Titans quarterback Steve McNair was a personal friend of Young's and favored him as his "heir apparent", Tennessee's coaches reportedly favored drafting Matt Leinart, and Young was no longer thought to be a consensus top five pick. Some had speculated that he would not even be picked in the top ten.NFL rumors Sports Illustrated April 4, 2006.
News regarding the Wonderlic, a standardized test given to all recruits, was problematic for Young. On February 25, 2006, during the NFL Combine, it was reported that Vince scored a 6 out of a possible 50 points on his Wonderlic Test. The test is designed to measure a player's ability to learn a complex NFL playbook. Some observers believed this score would lower Young's draft selection and faulted his agent, Major Adams, for not preparing Young ahead of time with practice tests.Dougherty, Pete (Green Bay Press-Gazette) and Wyatt, Jim (The Tennessean) Will Wonderlic cause teams to wonder about Young? USA Today – accessed March 1, 2006.
However, on February 26, 2006, combine officials said the reported score of 6 was incorrect. According to NFL Spokesman Steve Alic, "I can tell you absolutely that the score that has been reported on the Internet is inaccurate. I spoke to the person who graded the test, and he assured me that that number was not correct."McCormick, Terry NFL: Reports of Young's exam score inaccurate Nashville City Paper February 27, 2006 The next day, the test was re-administered and Young allegedly scored a 16.
Tennessee Titans
2006 season: Rookie season
The NFL Draft was held on April 29–30, 2006. The Tennessee Titans drafted Young in the first round as the 3rd overall pick, confirming the predictions of many draft experts. He was the first quarterback taken in the draft, with the Titans choosing him instead of Matt Leinart. The Titans general manager, Floyd Reese, said Young's upside was the deciding factor in his being chosen. Reese said, "Last night at 11:35, I was on my knees praying ... he will rewrite the position. This guy physically is such a combination of arms and legs. People want to make him out to be a Michael Vick. He's not that. He's different."
On July 27, 2006, Young agreed to terms on his initial contract with the Titans. Terms of the deal were reported to include five years with a sixth year team option and as much as US$58 million overall including $25.7 million in guaranteed money. As a quarterback, Young was able to reach a deal similar to that signed by the draft's #1 overall pick, Texans defensive end Mario Williams.