Vince Young
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Vincent Paul Young Jr. (born May 18, 1983) is a former
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
who played in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) for six seasons. Young was drafted by the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
as the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, and he was also selected to be the Madden '08 cover athlete. Young played
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
at the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, where he is often mentioned among the greatest quarterbacks in NCAA history. As a junior, he won the
Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...
, awarded annually to the best college quarterback in the nation. He finished second behind
Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...
in
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
voting. After the Heisman voting, Young led his team to a BCS National Championship against Bush’s defending BCS national champion
USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...
in the 2006 Rose Bowl, a game lauded as one of the most-anticipated and greatest in the history of college football. Texas
retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
Young's jersey on August 30, 2008. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Titans where he compiled a 30–17 starting record. In his rookie season, Young was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the AFC
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
team as a reserve. In 2009, Young earned his second Pro Bowl selection and was named ''
Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'' NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He later played one year as a backup with the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
in 2011 and had offseason stints with the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
, the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
, and
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
from 2012–2014. In 2017, he attempted a comeback in the Canadian Football League with the
Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
, but was released before the season began.


Early life

Young grew up in the
Hiram Clarke Hiram Clarke is an area in Houston, Texas, United States, southwest of NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park). History Hiram Clarke Road was named after Hiram Clarke, a Houston Lighting & Power Co. assistant general manager and executive vice president ...
neighborhood of
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, 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 A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...
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 Madison High School may refer to: * Madison County High School (Alabama), Gurley, Alabama * Madison High School (Idaho), Rexburg, Idaho * Madison Consolidated High School, Madison, Indiana * Madison High School (Kansas), Madison, Kansas * Kentuc ...
in Houston, where he started at quarterback for three years and compiled 12,987 yards of
total offense Total offense (or total offence) is a gridiron football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player. Total offense differs from yards from scrimmage, which gives credit for passing yardage to the ...
during his
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
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 The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
. After beating Missouri City Hightower 56–22 in the state quarterfinals, Houston Madison faced Austin Westlake in the state semi-finals. 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 A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
'''s and ''Student Sports''' National Player of the Year after compiling 3,819 yards and 59
touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...
as a senior, *being named 2001 Texas 5A Offensive Player of the Year, *designation as ''
The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'''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 Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, 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 Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
and two-time all-district performer. In
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
, he was a three-year letterman and member of two district champion 400-meter
relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
squads. In
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
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 The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, where he played for coach
Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American college football coach. He is currently in his second stint as the head football coach for the University of North Carolina, where he first coached from 1988 until departing in 1997, whe ...
's
Texas Longhorns football The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate team representing the University of Texas at Austin (variously Texas or UT) in the sport of American football. The Longhorns compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ...
team from 2002 to 2005. He was part of an exceptionally strong Texas recruiting class that included future NFL players
Rodrique Wright Rodrique Charles Wright (born July 31, 1984) is an American former college and professional football player who currently serves as defensive end coach for the University of Miami football team. He was a defensive end in the National Football Lea ...
,
Justin Blalock Justin Christopher Blalock (born December 20, 1983) is a former American football offensive guard who played eight seasons with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Texas at A ...
, Brian Robison,
Kasey Studdard Kasey Studdard (born July 1, 1984) is a former American football offensive guard who played in the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Denver Broncos tackle Dave Studdard, he was drafted by the Texans in the sixth round (183rd overa ...
, Lyle Sendlein, David Thomas,
Selvin Young Selvin Young (born October 1, 1983) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Texas. Early years A three-year starter at Jersey Village High ...
, and Aaron Ross. Young
redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
his
freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...
year.


2003 season

As a redshirt freshman during the
2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
, Young was initially second on the depth chart behind Chance Mock. However, Mock was benched halfway through the season (in the game against
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
) in favor of Young. After that game, Young and Mock alternated playing time, with Young's running ability complementing Mock's drop-back passing.


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 Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
in a shutout), a top 5 final ranking, and the school's first-ever appearance in the Rose Bowl, in which they defeated the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. 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 The I formation is one of the most common offensive formations in American football. The I formation draws its name from the vertical (as viewed from the opposing endzone) alignment of quarterback, fullback, and running back, particularly when ...
to a
Shotgun formation The shotgun formation is a formation used by the offensive team in gridiron football mainly for passing plays, although some teams use it as their base formation. Instead of the quarterback receiving the snap from center at the line of scrimmag ...
with three wide receivers. This change gave the offense more options in terms of
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...
selection, and consequently made it more difficult to defend against. Before his junior season, Young appeared on the cover of ''
Dave Campbell's Texas Football ''Dave Campbell's Texas Football'' is a biannual magazine previewing American football teams in the state of Texas. It previews football teams in Texas at all levels, from the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, college football, to the r ...
'' alongside
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
quarterback
Reggie McNeal Reginald Parrish McNeal (born September 20, 1983) is a former professional American football player. He played five seasons in the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Texas A&M University. High school career McNeal attended ...
.


2005 season: National Championship

As a redshirt junior in the 2005 season, Young led the Longhorns to an 11–0
regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...
record. The Longhorns held a #2 ranking in the preseason, and held that ranking through the season except for one week when they were ranked #1 in the
Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including ...
.Veyhl, Jake
Longhorns No. 1 for First Time in BCS
''
The Daily Texan ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spri ...
''. October 25, 2005.
Texas then won the
Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...
championship game and still held their #2 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 ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
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 Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
(2004 Heisman winner) and running back
Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...
(2005 Heisman winner—since
vacated A vacated judgment (also known as vacatur relief) makes a previous legal judgment legally void. A vacated judgment is usually the result of the judgment of an appellate court, which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court. ...
). In the 2006 Rose Bowl, Young accounted for 467 yards of total offense (200 rushing, 267 passing) and three rushing
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
s (including a 9-yard touchdown scramble on 4th down with 19 seconds left) to lead the Longhorns to a 41–38 victory. This performance led to him winning Rose Bowl
MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
honors. Young finished the season with 3,036 yards passing and 1,050 yards rushing earning him the
Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...
. 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 college quarterbacks. Young reached a win–loss record as a starter of 30–2, ranking him #1 of all University of Texas quarterbacks by number of wins, although his successor,
Colt McCoy Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, where he won several awards and honors as a senior in 2009. McC ...
, would far surpass 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 (2003–05), Young passed for 6,040 yards (No. 5 in Texas history) and 44 touchdowns (No. 4 in Texas history) while rushing for 3,127 yards (No. 1 on Texas's all-time QB rushing list/No. 7 on Texas's all-time list) and 37 touchdowns (No. 5 on Texas's all-time rushing touchdowns list/Tied for No. 1 among quarterbacks). He was also #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 #5. The University of Texas retired Young's #10 jersey during the 2008 season-opening football game on August 30, 2008.


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. The only other players to do so were
Dan LeFevour Daniel Terrence LeFevour (born March 19, 1987) is a former Canadian football quarterback. He was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears and spent time with three other NFL teams (without appearing in a re ...
of
Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...
,
Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a mem ...
of
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
in 2012,
Lamar Jackson Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisville, where he won the Heisman Trophy during his soph ...
of
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...
in 2016 and 2017, and
Kyler Murray Kyler Cole Murray (born August 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M, Murray played college football at University of Okl ...
of Oklahoma University in 2018. *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 Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
as a Freshman; 158 yards at
Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
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 (vs.
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, at Baylor, vs. Nebraska) in the same season and is tied with
Ricky Williams Errick Miron (born Errick Lynne Williams Jr.; May 21, 1977) is an American former football running back who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). After playing baseball an ...
(1995) 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 Ronald Dayne (born March 14, 1978) is a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. Dayne played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers football, University of Wisco ...
,
Bob Schloredt Robert Schloredt (October 2, 1939 – May 16, 2019) was an American football quarterback in the NCAA Division I and CFL and coaching in both the NCAA and World Football League. Early years Schloredt was born in Deadwood, South Dakota in 1939 and ...
, and Charles White as the only two-time winners. *He passed for 44 touchdowns (No. 4 in UT history) *Rose Bowl Record & BCS Championship Game Record – Total yards (467) *Rose Bowl Record – Touchdowns responsible for (5), tied by
Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and was draft ...
in 2009 *Rose Bowl Record & BCS Record- Net rushing yards by a quarterback (200), broke his own record *Rose Bowl Record – Points responsible for (30), tied by
Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and was draft ...
in 2009 *Bowl Record – Net rushing yards by a quarterback (201), tied by Dwight Dasher in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl, then surpassed by
Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a mem ...
(229) in the
2013 Cotton Bowl Classic The 2013 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic was a post-season American college football bowl game held on January 4, 2013 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas in the United States. The 77th edition of the Cotton Bowl Classic began at 7:00 p.m. Centr ...
*BCS Record – Total yards (467), surpassed by Tim Tebow in 2009 *BCS Record – Touchdowns responsible for (5), tied
Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
, tied by
Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and was draft ...
in 2009 *BCS Record – Rushing touchdowns (4), tied
Dominick Davis Domanick Williams (born October 1, 1980, as Domanick Davis) is a former American football running back. He played three years for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL), after playing four seasons of college football at Louis ...
and
Ron Dayne Ronald Dayne (born March 14, 1978) is a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. Dayne played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers football, University of Wisco ...
*BCS Record – Points Scored (24), tied
Dominick Davis Domanick Williams (born October 1, 1980, as Domanick Davis) is a former American football running back. He played three years for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL), after playing four seasons of college football at Louis ...
and
Ron Dayne Ronald Dayne (born March 14, 1978) is a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. Dayne played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers football, University of Wisco ...
*BCS Record & BCS Championship Game Record – Most rushing yards per attempt (10.53) *BCS Championship Game Record – Rushing yards (200) *BCS Championship Game Record – Net rushing yards by a quarterback (200) *BCS Championship Game Record – Rushing touchdowns (3), tied
LenDale White LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks and De ...
in same game *BCS Championship Game Record – Pass completions (30) *BCS Championship Game Record – Passes without an interception (40) *BCS Championship Game Record – Completion percentage (75.0%) *BCS Championship Game Record – Points Scored (20), tied
Peter Warrick Peter L. Warrick (born June 19, 1977) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football at Florida State University, and was reco ...
*UT Record – Touchdown passes, season (26), tied with
Chris Simms Christopher David Simms (born August 29, 1980) is an American sports analyst and former American football, football player. He was a quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in t ...
, surpassed by
Colt McCoy Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, where he won several awards and honors as a senior in 2009. McC ...
*UT Record – Passing completion percentage, careers (61.8%), surpassed by McCoy *UT Record – Total Offense, game (506) *UT Record – Total Offense, season (4,086), surpassed by McCoy *UT Record – Total Offense, career (9,167), surpassed by McCoy *UT Record – Average gain per play, season (8.5 yards) *UT Record – Average gain per play, career (7.8 yards) *UT Record – Pass completion percentage, game (86.2%) against Colorado in 2005, surpassed by McCoy *UT Record – Pass completion percentage, career (61.8%) (min 100 attempts), surpassed by McCoy in 2009 *UT Record – Wins by a quarterback, Career (30), surpassed by McCoy *UT Record – Longest run by a Quarterback (80 yards) *UT Record – Most rushing yards by a Quarterback, game (267), against
Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, broke his own record previously set against Michigan *UT Record – Most rushing yards by a Quarterback, career (3,127), also 5th best by any UT player *UT Record – Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, season (14), surpassed by
Sam Ehlinger Samuel George Ehlinger ( ; born September 30, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played high school football at Westlake in Austin, Texas, where he broke various school ...
in 2018 *UT Record – Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, career (37), also 4th best by any UT player *UT Record – Most games rushing and passing for more than 100 yards, career (5 games) *UT Record – Most 300 yard total offense games, season (6), tied by and then surpassed by McCoy *UT Record – Most 300 yard total offense games, career (10), surpassed by McCoy *UT Record – Most 400 yard total offense games, season (2), tied by and then surpassed by McCoy *UT Record – Most 400 yard total offense games, career (4) *UT Record – Most 500 yard total offense games, season (1) *UT Record – Most 500 yard total offense games, career (1) *UT Record – Most Offensive yards, game (506 yards), against
Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
on October 29, 2005, broke his own record *UT Record – Most 100 yard rushing games by a quarterback, season (3 games), tied his own record twice *Big 12 & UT Record – Passing efficiency, season (163.9), surpassed by
Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the ...
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 (6.8) *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 In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
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.


College awards and honors

*2006 –
ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...
for Best Championship Performance. *2006 – ESPY Award for Best Game (2006 Rose Bowl; joint award shared between Texas and USC – accepted award along with
Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
).Fisher, Gerren LaQuint *2006 –
Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...
Male Athlete of the Year (for 2005–2006 scholastic year) *2006 –
Manning Award The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that incl ...
winner *2006 – Rose Bowl MVP (at end of 2005 season) *2005 – BCS National Championship *2005 – The
Cingular All-America Player of the Year The AT&T ESPN All-America Player is a joint marketing venture between AT&T and ESPN that allows fans to select college football's player of the week and player of the year respectively. Each "vote" counts as an entry into an AT&T sweepstakes, usual ...
Award *2005 –
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n Offensive Player *2005 – The
Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...
– College Player of the Year *2005 –
Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National C ...
*2005 – 1st Team All-Big 12 Conference honors (unanimous decision) *2005 – Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player (at end of 2004 season) *2003 – Big 12 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year *
Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...
#10 retired


Professional career

Throughout the 2005 season Young had indicated that he planned to return to the University of Texas for his senior year in 2006.
Vince Young: 'I plan on coming back'
'
Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
October 25, 2005.
Veyhl, Jake
Longhorns No. 1 for First Time in BCS
''
The Daily Texan ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spri ...
''. October 25, 2005.
The day after Texas won the BCS National Championship, Young accepted an invitation to appear on ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'' with
Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...
. 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.Vince Young to leave Texas, enter NFL Draft
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''. January 8, 2006. Retrieved January 8, 2006.
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, Jeffr
No Sure Thing
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
March 2, 2006.
The Saints, who held the second overall pick, were likely to pass on drafting a high-rated quarterback after
Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...
signed with the team as a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
. Though Titans quarterback
Steve McNair Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009),Steve McNair Found Dead
...
was a personal friend of Young's and favored him as his "heir apparent", Tennessee's coaches reportedly favored drafting
Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
, 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 ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
April 4, 2006.
News regarding the
Wonderlic The Wonderlic Contemporary Cognitive Ability Test (formerly Wonderlic Personnel Test) is an assessment used to measure the cognitive ability and problem-solving aptitude of prospective employees for a range of occupations. It is a proprietary ...
, a standardized test given to all recruits, was problematic for Young. On February 25, 2006, during the
NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...
, 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 ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
– 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, Terr
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 The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
drafted Vince 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 Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
. The Titans general manager,
Floyd Reese Floyd Reese (August 8, 1948 – August 21, 2021) was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). From 1994 to 2006, he held the position of general manager of the Tennessee Titans. Reese then serv ...
, 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 Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...
. 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, Houston Texans, Texans defensive end
Mario Williams Mario Jerrel Williams (born January 31, 1985) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football for North Carolina State University, and was selected first overall by the Houston Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft. A four-time ...
. On August 12, 2006, Young made his preseason debut against the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
which featured
Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...
in his NFL debut, the two Heisman candidates picking up where they left off in the BCS national championship game seven months before. Young did not start, but entered the game in the second half. On September 17, Young threw for his first career touchdown against the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
. Young made his first career start versus the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
on October 1, 2006, completing 14 of 29 passes for 155 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He achieved his first NFL victory (against the Washington Redskins, 25–22) on October 15, 2006. On Sunday, November 26, 2006, Vince Young led his first NFL fourth-quarter comeback, against the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. With the Giants leading 21–0, the tide suddenly changed after New York quarterback
Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...
threw an interception to
Pacman Jones Adam Bernard Jones (born September 30, 1983) is a former American football cornerback and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, most notably with the Cincinnati Bengals. Nicknamed "Pacman", he was dra ...
. Young subsequently led a scoring drive, throwing a touchdown pass to ex-Longhorn teammate
Bo Scaife Oliver Edward "Bo" Scaife, III (born January 6, 1981) is a former American football tight end. He was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas. Early years Scaife a ...
. After the Titans forced a three-and-out, Young ran an option play for a touchdown on the next drive. Another successful stop led to Young throwing his second touchdown of the quarter. After another
Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...
interception to
Pacman Jones Adam Bernard Jones (born September 30, 1983) is a former American football cornerback and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, most notably with the Cincinnati Bengals. Nicknamed "Pacman", he was dra ...
, this time with only 30 seconds left in the game, Young calmly led his team down the field for
Rob Bironas James Robert Douglas Bironas (January 29, 1978 – September 20, 2014) was an American football placekicker who played the majority of his professional career with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Auburn University and Georgia ...
' game-winning field goal; the final score was 24–21 over the Giants. It is statistically the best performance of Vince Young's NFL career: he went 24/35 for 249 yards and two touchdowns, with a 107.9 passer rating. He also rushed 10 times for 69 yards and a touchdown. A week later, Young led another come-from-behind victory over the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
who, prior to the game, held a 10–1 record. The late
Rob Bironas James Robert Douglas Bironas (January 29, 1978 – September 20, 2014) was an American football placekicker who played the majority of his professional career with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Auburn University and Georgia ...
iced the game with a 60-yard field goal. The 14-point comeback marked the first time in NFL history that a rookie quarterback led two 14+ point comebacks in the same season. The following week marked Vince’s first pro game in his hometown of Houston vs the Texans. Vince had extra motivation for this game, as he felt the Texans should have drafted him with the #1 pick 8 months earlier. He led the Titans back from a 4th quarter deficit for the 3rd consecutive week, with the game eventually going into OT. On 3rd and 14, Young burst up the middle for a 39 yard game winning TD run. On Sunday, December 24, 2006, Vince Young led yet another come-from-behind victory over the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
who, along with the Titans, had a 7–7 record and were competing for an AFC wild card playoff spot. This time the comeback was from 9 points down after
Rian Lindell Rian David Lindell (born January 20, 1977) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at Washington State. Early years ...
kicked a 24-yard field goal at the end of the 3rd quarter to make the score 29–20 in favor of the Bills. Young then led the Titans on a 9-play, 62-yard drive that spanned 4:16 and ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jones to make the score 27–29. After a three and out by the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
, Young again led his team on a 7:15, 14-play scoring drive that culminated in a 30-yard field goal by
Rob Bironas James Robert Douglas Bironas (January 29, 1978 – September 20, 2014) was an American football placekicker who played the majority of his professional career with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Auburn University and Georgia ...
, putting the Titans on top 30–29. Bironas' kick would prove to be the winning points. Young ended the day going 13-of-20 for 183 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, with a rating of 127.7. He also rushed 8 times for 61 yards and 1 touchdown. Young held the then NFL record for rushing yards by a rookie quarterback with 552, breaking the old record of 408 yards set by
Bobby Douglass Robert Gilchrist Douglass (born June 22, 1947) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) who played most of his career with the Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the second round of the 1969 NFL Draft. Durin ...
in 1969. It has since been broken by quarterbacks
Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...
and
Robert Griffin III Robert Lee Griffin III (born February 12, 1990), nicknamed RG3 and RGIII, is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Baylor, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected second overa ...
in 2011 and 2012 respectively. He won the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
NFL Offensive Rookie of The Year Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...
honors at the conclusion of the 2006 NFL campaign, becoming only the third quarterback to win the award, along with
Dennis Shaw Dennis Wendell Shaw (born March 3, 1947) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and the Kansas City Chiefs. College career Shaw played college f ...
and
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college footba ...
. On February 3, Vince Young was named to the 2007 Pro Bowl to replace
Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was sele ...
whose foot injury kept him out of what would have been his first Pro Bowl appearance. Young threw one interception in limited play time in the Pro Bowl. Of the rookie quarterback class of 2006, Vince Young has the best record as a starter, surpassing the only other three starting rookie quarterbacks:
Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
,
Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...
, and
Bruce Gradkowski Bruce Raymond Gradkowski (born January 27, 1983) is a former American football quarterback and current offensive coordinator for the St. Louis BattleHawks. He played college football at Toledo. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the ...
. During the 2006 season, Vince Young led the Tennessee Titans to eight wins including six straight wins. He had a record of 8–5 as a starter. Of the wins, four of them were fourth quarter comebacks, including three straight fourth quarter comebacks. His passer rating was 66.7, which ranked 30th of 31 qualified quarterbacks in the NFL that season. Only
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...
quarterback Bruce Gradkowski had a lower rating of 65.9. Vince Young has also appeared on the cover of ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' six times: once in the 2005 College Football season preview issue, on a December issue prior to the Big 12 Championship game versus Colorado, on the weekly edition after the 2006 Rose Bowl and also the Commemorative edition following the 2006 Rose Bowl, once for the 2006 NFL Draft preview issue, and most recently after the Titans won 4 straight games in the 2006 NFL season. Young's performance in his rookie season earned him the honor of being the cover athlete for the video game
Madden NFL 08 ''Madden NFL 08'' is a 2007 American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 19th installment in the ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. It features the former Tennessee Titan ...
. Young was awarded the NFL Rookie of the Year honors for 2006. In spite of this, Young considered ending his career. In an article published by NFL.com Young was quoted as saying he thought about retiring from professional football after his first season stating "I really thought long and hard about it. There was so much going on with my family. It was crazy being an NFL quarterback. It wasn't fun anymore. All of the fun was out of it. All of the excitement was gone. All I was doing was worrying about things." However, Young would later recant this stating he never considered quitting football and his remarks were blown out of proportion.


2007 season

For the first
exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
on August 11, 2007, Titans Coach
Jeff Fisher Jeffrey Michael Fisher (born February 25, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach and general manager for the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL). He is a former cornerback and return specialist. He ...
benched Young after he broke one of the team rules. Though Fisher declined to mention the rule Young broke, Young later hesitantly admitted that he left the team hotel the previous night in order to sleep at his home without informing Fisher. Young apologized for his behavior and was allowed to play for the next game. During the Titans first game, a 13–10 win against the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
, Young threw for 78 yards with 1 interception and ran for 22 yards, including a touchdown. In Week 2, the Titans lost 22–20 to the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
at home. Vince threw for 164 yards and a touchdown and ran for 53 yards on 5 carries. During Week 3, the Titans played the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
in the first of their 2 appearances on
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...
in the 2007 season. The Titans beat the Saints 31–14 behind Young's 185 total yards (21 rushing, 164 passing) and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. On Sunday October 7, Vince Young and the Titans took to the field in Nashville as they took on the Atlanta Falcons. Despite a lackluster day, the Titans and Young would come away with the victory 20–13. Young was 20–33 with 153 yards and 3 interceptions. Young injured his quadriceps during the first half of a matchup against
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
in Week 6. Young went to the dressing room clutching his leg, but returned after half-time and was shown warming up on the sidelines. However, he would not return to the game as a precautionary measure. The Titans would go on to lose the game 13–10. Despite an upcoming divisional matchup against the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
Young missed the following week's matchup after being listed as a gametime decision. This would be Young's first start missed due to injury. He returned the next week against the Oakland Raiders to complete 6 of 14 attempts for 42 yards in a 13–9 win. The following week against Carolina, Young would complete 14 of 23 attempts for 110 yards and 2 interceptions and add 25 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a 20–7 win. In Week 10 Young completed 24 of 41 passes for 257 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions in 28–13 loss against the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
. Young's 257 yards passing in the game would become a new career high passing his previous best of 249 yards in a 24–21 comeback win over the New York Giants in Week 12 of the 2006–2007 season. His 41 attempts would also be a new career high. The following week Young eclipsed his previous mark for passing yards in a game by throwing for 305 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions as well as rushing for 74 yards and 1 touchdown in a 34–20 loss against the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
on Monday Night Football. His 379 combined yards would set a new career mark passing his previous best of 318 total yards in a 24–21 comeback win over the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
in Week 12 of the 2006–2007 season. He would also equal his career high in attempts with 41. In Week 13, Young had his best overall passing game of the season against the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
. Young ended the day by going 21 of 31 for 248 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception for a 99.9 QB Rating in a 28–20 win. Young also added 5 carries for 44 yards which brought his streak of 250+ combined yardage games to 4 straight. In Week 15, Young posted his best QB Rating of the season by going 16 of 26 for 191 yards with 2 touchdown and 0 interceptions for a QB Rating of 109.6. He would also add 7 carries for 32 yards as the Titans overcame a 14–10 halftime lead by the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...
to win the game 26–17 and keep their playoff hopes alive moving to 8–6 for the season. In Week 16, Young completed 12 of 22 passes for 166 yards and 1 interception and added 1 rushing yard in a 10–6 win against the New York Jets. The win against the Jets combined with a loss by the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
earlier in the day put the Titans in position for the last play off spot in the AFC. In Week 17, Vince Young and the Titans' playoff wishes came to life as they defeated the Indianapolis Colts 16–10 to clinch the 6th seed in the AFC Playoffs. Young would leave the game in the 3rd quarter after suffering what seemed to be a re-injury of his right quad which kept him out for a game earlier in the season. Backup quarterback
Kerry Collins Kerry Michael Collins (born December 30, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, ...
would enter in the game and lead the Titans to 2 field goals to break a 10–10 tie and seal the victory. Before the injury, Young posted some of his best numbers of the year by completing 14 of 18 passes for 157 yards with 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and posting a 103.0 QB Rating. At the end of the regular season, Young finished with 2,459 passing yards with 9 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Additionally, Young would finish with 395 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. In Young's first playoff game, he completed 16 of 29 passes for 138 yards and one interception and had 12 rushing yards for a 53.5 passer rating in a 17–6 loss to the Chargers.


2008 season

In the first game against the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
, Young injured his knee and was expected to miss 2 to 3 weeks. On September 15, Jeff Fisher made the decision to go with
Kerry Collins Kerry Michael Collins (born December 30, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, ...
and for Collins to remain the starter for the rest of the season. The Titans finished 13–3 in the regular season, with Young assuming backup duties.


2009 season: Comeback Player of the Year

During the 2009 offseason, Coach Jeff Fisher announced that Kerry Collins would remain the Titans' starting quarterback for the 2009 season; Fisher said that if Young wanted to become the starting quarterback, he would have to "earn his job back". On October 29, 2009, following a disappointing 0–6 start to the season, Coach Fisher announced that Young would replace Collins as starter. Titans owner Bud Adams had reportedly urged Fisher to give Young more playing time following the team's 59–0 loss to the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
on October 18, and became even more insistent during the team's bye week that followed. Fisher nonetheless withheld announcing the change "for competitive reasons" until the Thursday afternoon before the Titans' next game, on Sunday, November 1, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Upon announcing the change, Fisher further stated: "I'm still in Kerry Collins' corner because I don't believe that our record is a reflection of the quarterback play", Fisher said. "It's a reflection of the team play. I'm still in his corner, but we've decided to go ahead and make this change." Young won eight of his ten starts in the 2009 campaign. The 2009 Titans are the first team in NFL history to win five straight after losing their first six games. On November 29, 2009, Young led the Titans on a 2:37 long, 99-yard drive near the end of their game against the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
. Young sealed the deal, with a 10-yard game-winning touchdown pass to
Kenny Britt Kenneth Lawrence Britt (born September 19, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Rutgers and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the 30th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. He has also played fo ...
on 4th down as time expired. The Titans won 20–17. Young finished with a 99.7 quarterback rating, went 27 for 43, with a career-high 387 yards, one touchdown, and had four carries for eight yards. Incidentally, due to an injury to Cardinals' starting quarterback
Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend fr ...
, this would mark a rematch of the 2006 Rose Bowl between Young and Cardinals' back-up quarterback
Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
. Young finished third in the bidding for the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award behind
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
running back
Carnell Williams Carnell Lamar "Cadillac" Williams (born April 21, 1982) is an American football coach and former running back in the National Football League. Williams was the interim head coach of the Auburn Tigers, the first African American to hold the posit ...
and the winner,
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
quarterback
Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
. Shortly thereafter, Young was announced as the
Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
comeback player of the year. Young played in the 2010 Pro Bowl, taking the roster spot of the injured
Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was sele ...
after
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college footba ...
and
Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...
declined to replace Rivers due to their own respective injuries. It was the 2nd Pro Bowl appearance of his career, his first being after his 2006
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...
award-winning season.


2010 season

Young led the Titans to a 4–5 record in nine of their first ten games in 2010 while throwing for ten touchdowns with a 98.6 passer rating. During a Week 11 loss to the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, Young suffered a torn flexor tendon in his right thumb, and was held out of the game after he prepared to reenter.Tennessee Titans lose game, possibly quarterback , tennessean.com
The Tennessean (November 22, 2010). Retrieved on 2010-12-05.
Following the game, Young threw his shoulder pads into the crowd as he left the field, had an altercation with Coach Fisher in the locker room, and stormed out. Fisher then declared that Rusty Smith would become the Titans' starting quarterback. On January 5, 2011, Titans owner
Bud Adams Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams, Jr. (January 3, 1923 – October 21, 2013) was an American businessman who was the founder and owner of the Tennessee Titans, a National Football League franchise. A member of the Cherokee Nation who originally mad ...
issued a press release stating that Young would no longer be on the team's roster for the 2011–12 season. Vince Young would finish his Titans career with a 30–17 record (63.8%) over five years. As a Titan, Young finished with a 75.4 quarterback rating, with 42 touchdown passes and 42 interceptions. On July 28, 2011, Young was released by the Titans.


Philadelphia Eagles

Young was signed by the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
to a one-year contract on July 29, 2011. Upon signing, Young declared the Eagles would become the "Dream Team", a label which would become highly publicized by media outlets.


2011 season

Young's first start as an Eagle came on November 20, 2011 in a '' Sunday Night Football'' match up against the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. Young played quarterback in the Eagles' 17–10 win, finishing the game with 258 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. The Eagles subsequently lost Young's second start of the season, 38–20 the following week against the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
. Young finished with 400 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a losing effort. In his third and final start the following week, Young threw one touchdown and four interceptions as the Eagles lost to the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
31–14, dropping the Eagles record to 4–8 and Young's record as a starter to 1–2 on the season. The loss would be the final regular season game of Young's career.


Final NFL years

Young signed a one-year deal with the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
on May 11, 2012. He was released by the team on August 27, 2012. On August 6, 2013, Young signed a one-year contract with the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
. He was released by the team on August 31, 2013. On May 1, 2014, Young signed a one-year contract with the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
. He was released by the team on May 12, 2014.


Saskatchewan Roughriders

In early February 2017, the
Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL) added Young to their negotiation list. A couple weeks later
Leigh Steinberg Leigh William Steinberg (born March 27, 1949) is an American sports agent, philanthropist, and author. During his 41-year career, Steinberg has represented over 300 professional athletes in football, baseball, basketball, boxing, and Olympic sp ...
, Young's agent, confirmed he'd conducted talks on behalf his client with the Roughriders. On March 8, 2017, Young was rumored to be signing with the Roughriders imminently. On March 9, 2017, the Roughriders held a press conference to formally announce the signing of Young. Young entered training camp fighting alongside Bryan Bennett and Brandon Bridge for the backup quarterback position to CFL-veteran
Kevin Glenn Kevin Glenn, Jr. (born June 12, 1979) is a former American professional Canadian football quarterback. He was originally signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played co ...
. On June 6, 2017, partway through training camp, Young suffered a hamstring injury. On June 12, 2017, following the team's first preseason game, it was announced that Young would miss 4–6 weeks with a torn hamstring. Five days later, he was waived by the Roughriders.


NFL career statistics


Awards and honors

* 2x
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
selection (2006, 2009) * Cover of ''
Madden NFL 08 ''Madden NFL 08'' is a 2007 American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 19th installment in the ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. It features the former Tennessee Titan ...
'' * 2006 NFL Rookie of the Week Awards (four separate weekly awards) * 2006 NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year * 2006
Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...


Retirement, post-NFL career

On June 14, 2014, Young announced his retirement. After announcing his retirement, he did say for a "guaranteed offer", he would come out of retirement. Young stated he also planned to work at the University of Texas in some form following his retirement. On August 14, 2014, Young had been hired by the University of Texas to work for its Division of Diversity and Community Engagement as a development officer for program alumni relations and raising money for programs that assist first-generation and low-income college students. His employment with the University of Texas ended on March 9, 2019 due to poor performances and absences, having been given job warnings dating back to 2017. In 2021, he was hired by the University of Texas as a special assistant in the athletic department.


Personal life

As a result of his strong on-field performance and his ties to the Houston area, January 10, 2006, was proclaimed "Vince Young Day" in his hometown. The
Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...
passed a resolution on February 20, 2007, to declare the day "Vince Young Day" throughout the state. Young has been in a number of television commercials for ''
Madden 08 ''Madden NFL 08'' is a 2007 American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 19th installment in the ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. It features the former Tennessee Titan ...
'' (for which he was on the cover), Reebok with
Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson (; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iver ...
, a television commercial for
Vizio Vizio Inc. (stylized as VIZIO) is an American publicly traded company that designs and sells televisions, sound bars, viewer data, and advertising. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Irvine, California.Lawton, Christopher, Iwatani ...
, and Campbell's Chunky Soup. He also appears in
rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
Mike Jones's video, "My 64". Young was also interviewed by ''60 Minutes'' for an episode that was aired on September 30, 2007. Young re-enrolled at the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
for the 2008 spring semester. In 2013, Young graduated from Texas with a degree in youth and community studies from the
College of Education In the United States and Canada, a school of education (or college of education; ed school) is a division within a university that is devoted to scholarship in the field of education, which is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences en ...
. Young continues to live in Houston's
Hiram Clarke Hiram Clarke is an area in Houston, Texas, United States, southwest of NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park). History Hiram Clarke Road was named after Hiram Clarke, a Houston Lighting & Power Co. assistant general manager and executive vice president ...
neighborhood. Young's grandmother, Betty, lives in the Sunnyside area of Houston.


Disappearance

On September 9, 2008, a distraught Young left his home without his cell phone. The reasons given were that Young was upset over being booed by fans after throwing a second
interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
against the visiting
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
the previous day and the sprained
medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. Its primary function is to resist out ...
in his left knee suffered four plays after head coach
Jeff Fisher Jeffrey Michael Fisher (born February 25, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach and general manager for the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL). He is a former cornerback and return specialist. He ...
prodded him back into the game. Young postponed a doctor's examination until the following day. After speaking to members of Young's family, Fisher called
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
police. After a four-hour search, they found Young, who agreed to meet with Fisher and police at the team's training facility. In regards to the incident, Young's mother (Felicia Young) stated that her son was "hurting inside and out."


Financial problems

In September 2012, the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
reported that Young had spent much of the $34 million salary he earned in the NFL and was facing financial problems after defaulting on a $1.9 million high interest
payday loan A payday loan (also called a payday advance, salary loan, payroll loan, small dollar loan, short term, or cash advance loan) is a short-term unsecured loan, often characterized by high interest rates. The term "payday" in payday loan refers to ...
. Young filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the lender, Pro Player Funding LLC, from enforcing a judgment of nearly $1.7 million with a claim that the loan documents were forged and he did not knowingly execute the loan. However, Young had authorized $1 million in loan payments to Pro Player directly from his Eagles salary prior to defaulting and Young's signatures on loan documents were
notarized A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...
. Young also filed lawsuits against his former agent, Major Adams, and a North Carolina financial planner, Ronnie Peoples, alleging that they misappropriated $5.5 million of funds. When asked to give a general assessment of Young's finances, Young's attorney, Trey Dolezal, stated "I would just say that Vince needs a job." Young's financial problems have reportedly been a result of lavish spending and, by his account, the betrayal of trusted advisers. In addition to the $34 million salary during his career in the NFL, Young had signed $30 million in endorsement deals with Reebok, Campbell's Soup, Madden NFL, Vizio and the National Dairy Council. In January 2014, Young filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
in a Houston federal bankruptcy court. On January 30, Young petitioned the court to dismiss the bankruptcy filing due to a settlement with Adams and Peoples, and a resulting settlement with Pro Player Funding.


Lawsuits

In December 2008, Young filed suit against former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
Enos Cabell Enos Milton Cabell (pronounced ), (born October 8, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman and third baseman from 1972 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Hous ...
and two others for applying for a trademark to use his initials and "Invinceable" nickname to sell products without his permission in 2006. The suit claims that their use of Young's name has damaged endorsement deals for Young; he asked the court to give him the exclusive rights to use the initials and nickname.


Impersonator

On September 23, 2011, Stephan Pittman, a registered sex offender in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, was arrested on felony fraud charges for impersonating Young.


Legal issues

On January 25, 2016, Young was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas. He pleaded no contest, was fined $300, and ordered to undergo 60 hours of
community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...
. On February 5, 2019, Young was arrested for DWI in
Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. Th ...
, Texas. He was released on a $500 bail the same day.


See also

*
Madden Curse ''Madden NFL'' (known as ''John Madden Football'' until 1993) is an American football video game series developed by EA Tiburon for EA Sports. It is named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden and sold more than 130 m ...


References


External links

*
Texas profile

Tennessee Titans profile

Philadelphia Eagles profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Vince 1983 births Living people African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football All-American college football players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American football quarterbacks Buffalo Bills players Canadian football quarterbacks Cleveland Browns players Green Bay Packers players Maxwell Award winners National Football League Offensive Rookie of the Year Award winners Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Houston Players of Canadian football from Houston Saskatchewan Roughriders players Tennessee Titans players Texas Longhorns football players