Vince Young

Early life

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

High school career

You can't turn on a television in Houston without seeing Vince Young. You might see him more than the Texans. He was like LeBron James in Houston when he was coming out of high school.

Young was coached by Ray Seals at Madison High School in Houston, where he started at quarterback for three years and compiled 12,987 yards of total offense during his high school career. During his senior season, he led his Madison Marlins to a 61–58 victory in the 5A Regionals over the previously undefeated Galena Park North Shore Mustangs, accounting for more than 400 yards of total offense, while passing for three touchdowns and rushing for two more before a crowd of 45,000 in the Houston Astrodome. After beating Missouri City Hightower 56–22 in the state quarterfinals, Houston Madison faced Austin Westlake in the state semifinals. Although Young completed 18 of 30 passes for 400 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 92 yards (on 18 carries) and a touchdown, Houston Madison lost by a score of 48–42.

Among the honors Young received in high school were:

being named Parade's and Student Sports' National Player of the Year after compiling 3,819 yards and 59 touchdowns as a senior,

being named 2001 Texas 5A Offensive Player of the Year,

designation as The Sporting News's top high-school prospect,

and the Pete Dawkins Trophy in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Young was also a varsity athlete in numerous other sports. In basketball, he played as a guard/forward and averaged more than 25 points per game over his career. This allowed him to be a four-year letterman and two-time all-district performer. In track and field, he was a three-year letterman and member of two district-champion 400-meter relay squads. In baseball, he played for two seasons, spending time as both an outfielder and pitcher. He also made the all-state team in football and in track.

College career

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

2003 season

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

2004 season

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

Before his junior season, Young appeared on the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football alongside Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal.

2005 season: National Championship

As a redshirt junior in the 2005 season, Young led the Longhorns to an 11–0 regular-season record. The Longhorns held a number-two ranking in the preseason, and held that ranking through the season except for one week when they were ranked number one in the Bowl Championship Series. Texas won the Big 12 championship game 70–3 over Colorado and still held their number-two BCS ranking, which earned them a berth in the National Championship Rose Bowl game against the USC Trojans. Before the game, the USC Trojans were being discussed on ESPN and other media outlets as possibly the greatest college football team of all time. Riding a 34-game winning streak, including the previous National Championship, USC featured two Heisman Trophy winners in the backfield – quarterback Matt Leinart (2004 Heisman winner) and running back Reggie Bush (2005 Heisman winner)

In the 2006 Rose Bowl, Young accounted for 467 yards of total offense (200 rushing, 267 passing) and three rushing touchdowns (including a 9-yard touchdown scramble on fourth down with 19 seconds left) to lead the Longhorns to a 41–38 victory. This performance led to him winning Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player honors. Young finished the season with 3,036 yards passing and 1,050 yards rushing earning him the Davey O'Brien Award. He was also named the Longhorns MVP. He was named an All-American. In recognition of his Rose Bowl accomplishments, Young was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2018.

Early in his college career, Young had been criticized as "great rusher...average passer", and his unconventional throwing motion had been criticized as being "side-arm" as opposed to the conventional "over-the-top" throwing motion typically used by quarterbacks.

Young reached a win–loss record as a starter of 30–2, ranking him number one of all University of Texas quarterbacks by number of wins, although his successor, Colt McCoy, far surpassed him with 45. His .938 winning percentage as a starting quarterback ranks sixth-best in Division I history. 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 (number five in Texas history) and 44 touchdowns (number four in Texas history) while rushing for 3,127 yards (first on Texas's all-time QB rushing list and number seven on Texas's all-time list) and 37 touchdowns (number five on Texas's all-time rushing touchdowns list and tied for first among quarterbacks). He was also number 10 on ESPN/IBM's list of the greatest college football players ever. In 2007, ESPN compiled a list of the top-100 plays in college football history; Young's game-winning touchdown in the 2006 Rose Bowl ranked fifth.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Throughout the 2005 season Young had indicated that he planned to return to the University of Texas for his senior year in 2006. The day after Texas won the BCS National Championship, Young accepted an invitation to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. When Leno asked Young whether he would stay for his senior year of college or declare for the 2006 NFL Draft, Young replied that he would discuss the matter with his pastor, his family, and coach Mack Brown. On January 8, 2006, Young announced he would enter the NFL draft, where he was expected to be drafted early in the first round. Even after his Rose Bowl performance, some observers said he may have difficulty in the NFL because of his unorthodox sidearm throwing motion and the different style of play in the NFL.

The Saints, who held the second overall pick, were likely to pass on drafting a high-rated quarterback after Drew Brees signed with the team as a free agent. Though Titans quarterback Steve McNair was a personal friend of Young's and favored him as his "heir apparent", Tennessee's coaches reportedly favored drafting Matt Leinart, and Young was no longer thought to be a consensus top five pick. Some had speculated that he would not even be picked in the top ten.

News regarding the Wonderlic, a standardized test given to all recruits, was problematic for Young. On February 25, 2006, during the NFL Combine, it was reported that Vince scored a 6 out of a possible 50 points on his Wonderlic Test. The test is designed to measure a player's ability to learn a complex NFL playbook. Some observers believed this score would lower Young's draft selection and faulted his agent, Major Adams, for not preparing Young ahead of time with practice tests.

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." The next day, the test was re-administered and Young allegedly scored a 16.

Tennessee Titans

The NFL Draft was held on April 29–30, 2006. The Tennessee Titans drafted Young in the first round as the 3rd overall pick, confirming the predictions of many draft experts. He was the first quarterback taken in the draft, with the Titans choosing him instead of Matt Leinart. The Titans general manager, Floyd Reese, said Young's upside was the deciding factor in his being chosen. Reese said, "Last night at 11:35, I was on my knees praying ... he will rewrite the position. This guy physically is such a combination of arms and legs. People want to make him out to be a Michael Vick. He's not that. He's different."

On July 27, 2006, Young agreed to terms on his initial contract with the Titans. Terms of the deal were reported to include five years with a sixth year team option and as much as US$58 million overall including $25.7 million in guaranteed money. As a quarterback, Young was able to reach a deal similar to that signed by the draft's #1 overall pick, Texans defensive end Mario Williams.

On September 17, Young threw for his first career touchdown against the San Diego Chargers in a 40–7 loss. Young made his first career start versus the Dallas Cowboys 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 November 26, 2006, Young led his first NFL fourth-quarter comeback, against the New York Giants. With the Giants leading 21–0, the tide suddenly changed after New York quarterback Eli Manning threw an interception to Pacman Jones. Young subsequently led a scoring drive, throwing a touchdown pass to ex-Longhorn teammate Bo Scaife. 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 interception to Pacman Jones, this time with only 30 seconds left in the game, Young calmly led his team down the field for Rob Bironas' game-winning field goal to clinch a 24–21 victory over the Giants. It was 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 who were 10–1, with Rob Bironas icing 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.

Philadelphia Eagles

Young was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles 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.

Young's first start as an Eagle came on November 20, 2011, in a Sunday Night Football match up against the New York Giants. 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. 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 31–14, dropping the Eagles record to 4–8 and Young's record as a starter to 1–2 on the season.

Final NFL years

Young signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills 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. He was released by the team on August 31, 2013.

On May 1, 2014, Young signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns. He was released by the team on May 12, 2014.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

In early February 2017, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) added Young to their negotiation list. A couple weeks later Leigh Steinberg, Young's agent, confirmed he had conducted talks on behalf of 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. 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.

Career statistics

Career highlights

Awards and honors

NFL

2× Pro Bowl selection (2006, 2009)

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

College

2006 – ESPY Award 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).

2006 – Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year (for 2005–2006 scholastic year)

2006 – Manning Award winner

2006 – Rose Bowl MVP (at end of 2005 season)

2005 – BCS National Championship

2005 – The Cingular All-America Player of the Year Award

2005 – Consensus All-American

2005 – The Maxwell Award – College Player of the Year

2005 – Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award

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

Accomplishments and records

Young was the first player in NCAA I-A history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.

Young owns five of the top seven single-game quarterback rushing performances in UT history: 267 yards vs Oklahoma State as a Junior; 200 yards vs USC as a Junior; 192 yards vs. Michigan as a Sophomore; 163 yards vs. Nebraska as a Freshman; 158 yards at Texas Tech as a Sophomore.

Young has six of the top 8 longest runs by a quarterback in UT history.

Young became the first player in UT history to pass and rush for 1,000 or more yards in the same season.

Young became the first quarterback in UT history to have three 100-yard rushing games (vs. Oklahoma, at Baylor, vs. Nebraska) in the same season and is tied with Ricky Williams (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, Bob Schloredt, 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 in 2009

Rose Bowl Record & BCS Record- Net rushing yards by a quarterback (200), broke his own record

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.

In 2025, Young hosted a podcast with Mack Brown called The Stampede, moderated by KEYE-TV sports director Bob Ballou. The program covers both the current Texas football team as well as memories of Young's tenure with the Longhorns.

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 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 (for which he was on the cover), Reebok with Allen Iverson, and Campbell's Chunky Soup. He appears in rapper 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 for the 2008 spring semester. In 2013, Young graduated from Texas with a degree in youth and community studies from the College of Education.

Young continues to live in Houston's Hiram Clarke 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 against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars the previous day and the sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee suffered four plays after head coach Jeff Fisher 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 police. After a four-hour search, they found Young, who agreed to meet with Fisher and police at the team's training facility.

In regard 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 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. 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. 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 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 player Enos Cabell 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, 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.

On February 5, 2019, Young was arrested for DWI in Fort Bend County, Texas. He was released on a $500 bail the same day. The charges were dismissed on August 25, 2020, after he completed a diversion program.