Nov 23, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Former Texas Longhorns quarterback Vince Young in attendance against the Kentucky Wildcats during the third quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-Imagn Images Brett Patzke-Imagn Images

Vince Young May Have Left Texas Longhorns If Not For One Man

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Aaron Raley | Last updated May 20, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Very few collegiate quarterbacks have been able to wow a crowd, home or away, as Vince Young did with the Texas Longhorns during his time in Austin.

With his electric passing and quick use of his legs, the Houston native became the first NCAA Division I player to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season in 2005, a season where many believed that he deserved the Heisman Trophy over USC running back Reggie Bush.

And speaking of Bush and USC, Young would lead the Longhorns to victory over the Trojans in the 2006 National Championship Game, the most recent championship to date for the Burnt Orange.

However, it wasn't always the greenest of pastures for the future NFL first-rounder.

The start at Texas was a rough one for Young, who had to adjust to taking a backseat role on the team after being a starter his whole life, and after a forgettable bowl game against Washington State, where Young was sat in favor of Chance Mock, he considered transferring out of the 40 Acres, wanting to establish himself as more than just a "pocket quarterback."

As he was heading back to Houston and contemplating the future of his life and career, he received a stern word from none other than Steve McNair, the Tennessee Titans' starting quarterback, and at the time, co-NFL MVP with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, as well as a personal friend of Young's.

Young and McNair's gameplay was a lot similar in the sense of their respective dual-threat abilities, and McNair reminded him that quitting wasn't an option.

"Steve said 'Listen. Everything is gonna be alright. We're not quitters. Go back and apologize to Coach (Mack) Brown and Coach (Greg) Davis, and fix it,'" Young recalled in the '05 documentary in 2022.

Young would later admit that the words from McNair helped keep his playing career on a level path.

"I pay a lot of respect to Steve for making me turn back around because if I had kept going I don't know where I would be at."

Young would later be drafted third overall in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, replacing McNair as the starting quarterback as he had gone on to the Baltimore Ravens.

Young and McNair's friendship would remain until McNair's shocking murder in 2009.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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