The FootballFoundation.org website recognizes that Young turned in one of the greatest individual seasons in college football history in 2005 while memorably leading Texas to a national championship. The Texas signal caller was a consensus First Team All-American in 2005, Young was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy while claiming the Davey O’Brien and Maxwell awards. That season he also claimed the unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year and First Team All-Big 12 selection led the Longhorns to a conference title and a perfect 13-0 season after winning the BCS National Championship Game against USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl. The GrandDaddy of them all game has gone down in the annals as one of the greatest games in college football history.
In the Rose Bowl, Young earned MVP honors after completing 30-of-40 passes for 267 yards, rushing for 200 yards (a Rose Bowl record among quarterbacks) and delivering the game-winning eight-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 19 seconds remaining. But that game did not define Young’s collegiate career as he posted a 30-2 record as a starter for College Football Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown.
Vinces’s 93.8 winning percentage was the sixth best in FBS history at the time. The 6ft-5” 233 pound QB owns multiple Longhorn records, including 1079 single-season and 3127 career rushing yards by a quarterback and 37 career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. With 6,040 passing yards and 3,127 rushing yards in his career (both marks rank sixth in Texas history), Young became just the fourth player in FBS history to pass for 6,000 yards and rush for 3,000 yards in a career.
The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Vince Young into their legendary museum in 2019. The Tennessee Titans selected Young with the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, and he played six seasons in the league with the Titans and Philadelphia Eagles. The 2006 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was selected to two Pro Bowls, becoming the first rookie quarterback to play in the game.