The Dream Is Over
Almost certainly, the Texas Longhorns will not repeat as NCAA champions:
Vince Young is headed to the NFL.
The quarterback who led Texas to its first national championship in 36 years announced Sunday he would make himself eligible for the NFL draft.
“I thank God for the opportunity to be in this position,” Young said at a news conference. “Hard work has paid off a whole lot.”
Texas is Texas, and they are always good for a 9-2 season, it seems, but let’s not kid ourselves: this championship was largely the work of Vince Young. As I said before, though, it’s the right move. Let’s hope he’s smart with his money (and his mouth) and has a long, fruitful career…
I hate to see him go, but I’m sure it is the right thing. He made the championship game very interesting this year, as did having a Texas Big 12 team there.
How do you think Vince Young will do in the NFL?
Tough to say: his passing technique is horrible, but despite that, he’s fairly accurate; and his 6-5 height definitely works to his advantage. He could have a fairly decent career, but I doubt he will ever top that Rose Bowl performance…
Am I the only person out here that is disappointed that Vince Young is not devoting himself to his final year of college?
Disappointed? Sure, I am, too…but I just watched Friday Night Lights, and seeing the scene where Boobie Myles (a real person, not just a character in the movie) saw his dreams of millions disappear with one bad tackle and a knee injury just reinforces my convinction that when you have a chance for millions, a chance so hard to come by in any other field, you simply have to go for it. I’d like to think Vince will be smart enough to get his degree anyway, as some other (but not nearly enough) pro athletes have…but if he’s even a halfway decent money manager, he’ll be set for life, and the NFL pension plan is an absolute dream…hard to fault the guy, even if it would have been nice to see him wearing the burnt orange one more season…
I’m also disappointed. He was exciting to watch and it will be a loss to Texas.
It will be very exciting for college football though. As much as I love Texas, going into next season with no clear-cut number one (who’s it going to be? Notre Dame? Puh-leeze!) is enough to give me shivers.
How about Ohio State? We’ll know how good they are early – they come to Austin to play the Vince Young-less Texas…
I can’t blame Young for skipping out on his final year in college. The whole point of a college degree is it will set you for a rewarding professional life. Well, he’s already set up to make more money in a few years than most of us will make in a lifetime, so there doesn’t seem much point in spending another year playing for free, always risking that kind of Boobie Miles injury that Mark alluded to.
The ones I feel sorry for are the marginal players who always seem to declare themselves eligible for the draft despite the fact it’s not clear anyone in the NFL wants them. Whoever their advisers are, they should be taken out and shot.