The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2015
Sport: Football
Position: Quarterback (2003-05)
Inducted: 2015
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Vince Young led Texas to a 41-38 victory over No. 1 USC in the Rose Bowl, a school-best 13-0 record and the 2005 National Championship in what was one of the most memorable seasons in Texas Football history. He became just the fourth player in Rose Bowl history to earn two MVP Awards, claiming Offensive MVP honors in the 2005 and 2006 games following the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Young passed for 267 yards, ran for 200 yards and scored three TDs against undefeated, defending champion USC. In the previous Rose Bowl against Michigan, he rushed for 192 yards to go along with 180 passing yards and accounted for five TDs (one passing/four rushing) to help Texas to a come-from-behind 38-37 victory. In addition, Young led Texas to its second Big 12 Championship, defeating Colorado 70-3 in 2005. As the quarterback of one of the most potent offenses in NCAA history, Young led the 2005 Longhorns to a NCAA-record 652 points and helped them become one of only four teams in NCAA history at that time to average at least 50 points and 500 yards per game. Individually, he became the first player in NCAA history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in a single season. As a result, Young was named the recipient of the Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award and Manning Award. He also was named Cingular/ABC Player of the Year, runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and consensus first-team All-America. Young left Texas as the winningest quarterback in school history, compiling a 30-2 record (.938) as a starter, including victories in the final 20 games of his career. His .938 winning percentage was sixth-best in NCAA history at the time. After just three seasons, Young became only the third quarterback in NCAA history at the time to rush for better than 3,000 yards while passing for at least 6,000. He completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 6,040 yards (No. 6 on UT's career list) and 44 TDs (No. 5 on UT's career list). He also posted 3,127 rushing yards and 37 TDs. Both his rushing yards and TDs are UT quarterback records, and stand fifth and fourth, respectively, among all Longhorn rushers. He also left Texas as the career leader in total offense (9,167 yards) and TDs responsible for with 81, and still stands second behind only Colt McCoy. Young went on to be drafted third overall by the Tennessee Titans in 2006. He claimed NFL Rookie of the Year honors after taking over as the starting quarterback in Week 4 and leading the Titans to an 8-5 record. He earned a spot in the Pro Bowl, becoming the first rookie quarterback ever to play in that game. Young followed up his rookie year by leading the Titans to a playoff berth in 2007. He was named 2006 Sports Person of the Year by the Nashville Sports Council and tabbed the Titans 2007 "Community All-Star" for his efforts on and off the field in Tennessee. He played five seasons in Tennessee, one with the Philadelphia Eagles and one with the Green Bay Packers. Young returned to UT and completed his degree in applied learning and development in 2013.
