2006 SEASON

Arguably one of the most heralded first round picks in franchise history, Young displayed his playmaking abilities and leadership capabilities playing in 15 games with 13 starts.  Young set new records in passing and rushing for every category for rookie quarterbacks in franchise history.  Young completed 184 of 357 passes for 2,199 yards (51.5%) with 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions (66.7 rating).  Young ranked second on team with 552 rushing yards and tied a team high with seven touchdowns.  He became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to exceed 500 rushing yards and the first player in NFL history with three or more rushing touchdowns of 20 yards or longer and three TD passes of 20 yards or longer in his rookie season.  Young’s eight wins rank fifth all-time in the NFL since 1970 for a rookie quarterback and the Titans six-game winning streak was the third longest led by a rookie quarterback.  Young also posted four fourth quarter comeback victories and he was the first quarterback in NFL history to achieve two comebacks of 14 points or more in his rookie season.  After an impressive rookie season, Young was named Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year.

• 12/31 vs. NE:  Completed 15 of 36 passes for 227 yards (long of 53) with two interceptions in a 40-23 loss…Young also rushed for 29 yards on two carries and one touchdown…Young scored his seventh rushing touchdown of the season on a 28-yard TD run pulling the Titans within 26-23 in the third quarter.  It was his fourth rushing touchdown of 20 yards or more in 2006.  Young’s seven rushing touchdowns are the most by a Titans player since 2002 and the most by a Titan quarterback since Steve McNair eight rushing touchdowns in 1999. 

• 12/24 at BUF:  Completed 13 of 20 passes for 183 yards (long of 32) and tied career-high with two touchdowns (127.7 rating) in a 30-29 win…Also rushed for 61 yards (long of 36) on eight carries and one touchdown.  Young threw his 11th touchdown of the season when he connected with Bobby Wade on a 22-yard scoring pass, giving the Titans a 7-3 lead in the first quarter…On fourth down and two play right before the end of the first half, Young scored his sixth rushing touchdown of the season on a 36-yard run, giving the Titans a 20-16 lead…Young threw his 12th touchdown pass of the season on a 29-yard pass to Brandon Jones, pulling the Titans to within 29-27 in the fourth quarter.  Young has totaled 523 rushing yards for the season and is the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to exceed 500 rushing yards.  Young is also the first player in NFL history with three rushing TD’s of 20 yards or longer and three TD passes of 20 yards or longer in his rookie season.  Rookies who had at least two of each were Calvin Hill (1969), Albie Reiz (1944) and Cecil Isbell (1938).

• 12/17 vs. JAX:  Completed eight of 15 passes for 85 yards (long of 22) in a 24-17 win…With a 7-4 record as Titans starting quarterback, Young has now tied Dan Marino and Kerry Collins for fifth place for most victories by rookie quarterback since 1970.

• 12/10 at HOU:  Completed 19 of 29 passes for 218 yards (career long of 39) with one interception (73.6 rating) in a 26-20 overtime win.  Young gained a career-high 86 yards rushing with one touchdown…In overtime Young recorded his fifth rushing touchdown of the season on a 39-yard game winning scramble on third and 14 to end the game.  With 458 rushing yards, Young surpassed Bears quarterback Bobby Douglass’ 408 rushing yards in 1969 for the most rushing yards in a season by any rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl era (since 1966).

• 12/3 vs. IND:  Completed 15 of 25 passes for 163 yards (long of 21) and tied career high with two touchdowns and two interceptions (72.6 rating).  Young set a new career high with 78 rushing yards (long of 18) on nine carries and six of those nine rushing attempts were third down conversions.  Young tossed his ninth touchdown pass of the season when Drew Bennett hauled in a 20-yard score, pulling the Titans to within 14-10 in the second quarter…In the fourth quarter Young threw his 10th touchdown pass of the season on a nine-yard toss to Brandon Jones, giving the Titans a 17-14 lead.  With Titans come-from -behind victory, Young became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to record two 14-point comebacks in consecutive games and in a season.

• 11/26 vs. NYG:  Completed 24 of 35 passes for 249 yards (long of 25) and two touchdowns (107.9) in a 24-21 win…Also rushed for a team-high 69 yards (long of 19) on 10 carries.  Young set career-highs in completions (24), passing yards (249), touchdowns (2) and rushing yards (69).  Young tossed his seventh touchdown pass of the season when he connected with Bo Scaife on a four-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter for the Titans first score of the game…Young pulled the score to 21-14 on his fourth rushing touchdown of the season on a one-yard score in the fourth quarter…Young tied the game at 21 on a 14-yard strike to Brandon Jones for his eighth touchdown pass of the season.  In the fourth quarter Young completed 13 of 18 passes for 130 yards (long of 25) with two touchdowns (129.4 rating) and rushed for 45 yards (long of 19) on five carries.  Young has either thrown or run for a touchdown in all eight of his NFL starts.  The 21-point comeback led by Young was the biggest comeback by a rookie quarterback in NFL history.  The previous record holder was John Elway, who directed a 19-point comeback on Dec. 11, 1983 against the Baltimore Colts.  

• 11/19 at PHI:  Completed eight of 22 passes for 101 yards (long of 28) with one touchdown in a 31-13 win…Rushed six times for a new career high 49 yards (tied career long of 20).  Young threw his sixth touchdown pass of the season when he connected with Ben Troupe on 14-yard scoring pass, giving Tennessee a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.  Young has now either thrown or run for a TD in all of his seven consecutive NFL starts.

• 11/12 vs. BAL:  Completed 13 of 25 passes for new career-high 211 yards (long of 37) with one interception in a 27-26 loss…Also rushed for 39 yards (long of 17) on eight carries with one touchdown…Young scored his third rushing touchdown of the season on a two-yard run, giving the Titans a 10-7 lead in the first quarter.  Young connected with Drew Bennett for a career-long 37-yard pass in the first quarter.

• 11/5 at JAX:  Completed career-high 15 of 36 passes for a career-high 163 yards (long of 32) with one touchdown and three interceptions in a 37-7 loss…Connected with Drew Bennett on a 32-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone for Titans first score of the game…That touchdown was the fifth time in five starts that he accounted for a touchdown rushing or passing.  Also rushed for 14 yards (long of seven) on four carries.

• 10/29 vs. HOU:  Completed seven of 15 passes for 87 yards (long of 23) with one touchdown (86.4 rating) in a 28-22 win.  Also rushed for career-high 44 yards (long of 20t) on four carries with one touchdown…In the second quarter scored his second rushing touchdown of the season on a career-long 20-yard run, giving the Titans a 7-0 lead…Young tossed his fourth touchdown on the season when he connected with Bobby Wade on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the Titans a 21-3 lead in the third quarter…Young has now recorded a touchdown rushing or passing for the fourth consecutive game in four starts.

• 10/15 at WAS:  In first NFL win as starting quarterback, completed 13 of 25 passes for 161 yards (long of 27) with one touchdown…Also rushed seven times for nine yards (long of five)…In the second quarter, threw his third touchdown pass of the season when he connected with Brandon Jones on a three-yard score, pulling the Titans to within 14-13.

• 10/8 at IND:  Completed 10 of 21 passes for 63 yards (long of 16) with one interception in a 14-13 loss.  Rushed for career-high 43 yards (long of 19t) on four carries and one touchdown…Scored his first NFL rushing touchdown on 19-yard run that gave Titans a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.  Helped team rush for a season-high 214 yards for the game and 152 yards in first half, the most by the team since the franchise moved to Tennessee.

• 10/1 vs. DAL:  In first NFL start, completed 14 of 29 passes for 155 yards (long of 24) with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 45-14 loss.  Also rushed for three yards (long of nine) on five carries.  Tossed second career touchdown on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Ben Troupe in the third quarter, followed by successful two-point conversion attempt which brought score to 28-14.

• 9/24 at MIA:  Did not play in a 13-10 loss.

• 9/17 at SD:  In five offensive series, completed seven of 19 passes for 106 yards (long of 28) with first career touchdown pass (73.6 rating) in a 40-7 loss.  Late in fourth quarter threw 18-yard strike to Drew Bennett for first NFL touchdown pass for Titans first points of game.  Also posted team-high 24 rushing yards (long of 12) on five attempts.
• 9/10 vs. NYJ:  In NFL debut, entered the game in second quarter and played one offensive series in a 23-16 loss.  Completed three of four passes for 27 yards with one interception (53.1 rating).  
• In 2006 preseason, played in all four games with one start and completed 29 of 57 passes (50.9) for 357 yards with one touchdown and one interception (69.1 rating).
 

 

COLLEGE:

Few college athletes have captured the nation’s attention the way quarterback Vince Young did at the University of Texas.  Young’s performance on the grandest of stages – a dazzling 2006 Rose Bowl victory to win a National Championship – elevated him to legendary status among the Texas faithful.  His ability to control a game with both his arm and his legs helped the Longhorns to a 20-game winning streak from 2004 to Young’s final college appearance in the Rose Bowl, which capped a 13-0 season.  During a three-year playing career, his record as a starter was 30-2, giving him a .938 winning percentage that ranked sixth in NCAA history.  

    After leading Texas to its first national title in 35 years, Young entered the 2006 NFL Draft with one year of college eligibility remaining.  Rarely has an athlete with his combination of size, speed, athleticism and leadership qualities been available in a 23-year-old quarterback entering the NFL.  The Titans seized the opportunity to select their quarterback of the future, taking the 6-foot-4 signal caller with the third overall pick in the draft.  The selection was the team’s highest pick in the draft since 1995, when Young’s mentor, Steve McNair, was chosen with the third pick by the Oilers.  

    In college, Young completed 61.8 percent of his passes (444 of 718) for 6,040 yards (fifth in school history) and 44 touchdowns (fourth in school history).  Additionally, he rushed for 3,127 yards and 37 touchdowns to set school records for quarterbacks.  His 9,167 yards of total offense and 81 combined touchdowns in three seasons also set Texas records, while his combined yardage total was the third-best in Big 12 history.  

    As a junior, he was decorated with numerous awards, including the Maxwell Award (nation’s top player), the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year Award and the Davey O’Brien Award (nation’s top quarterback), and he finished second behind Reggie Bush in Heisman Trophy balloting.  He passed for 3,036 yards with 26 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions, earning a 163.9 passer efficiency rating that ranked third in the country.  On the ground, he gained 1,050 yards and 12 touchdowns on 155 carries.   

    His penchant for the dramatic was exhibited in six fourth-quarter comebacks during his career, including two signature comebacks as a junior – a win at then-No. 4 Ohio State and the Rose Bowl victory against top-ranked Southern California.  In the USC game, which gave Texas its first National Championship since 1970, Young rushed for two touchdowns in the game’s final 4:03, including the game-winning score with just 19 seconds remaining to complete a 12-point comeback and give the Longhorns a 41-38 victory.  The Houston native subsequently declared for the 2006 NFL Draft and was selected by the Titans with the third overall pick.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 

• AS A JUNIOR, won Maxwell Award (nation's top player), Davey O'Brien Award (nation's top quarterback), Cingular/ABC Sports Player of the Year, Manning Award, consensus first-team All-America honors and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in unanimous vote while leading Longhorns to 13-0 season and BCS National Championship.  Also finished as runner-up behind USC tailback Reggie Bush for Heisman Trophy.  Earned spot on 11-member American Football Coaches Association Good Works team due to charitable work and community service efforts.  Started all 13 games, completing 212 of 325 passes (65.2%) for 3,036 yards (third on team’s all-time single-season list) and 26 passing touchdowns (tied for first on team’s single-season list).  Finished season third in country with 164.0 passer efficiency rating.  Also rushed for 1,050 yards and 12 touchdowns.   With 4,086 yards of total offense, became school’s single-season leader in total offense, bettering Major Applewhite's 1999 total of 3,211 yards.

• At No. 4 Ohio State (9/10), was 18-of-29 passing for 270 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 76 yards in dramatic 25-22 victory.  Helped break Buckeyes’ 36-game home non-conference winning streak.  His 346 total yards were second-most in UT history versus a Top 5 opponent.  Earned Sporting News and ABC/Cingular National Player of the Week and Walter Camp Football Foundation and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors for performance.

• Against No. 24 Colorado (10/15), recorded first career 300-yard passing game and set school record for completion percentage by going 25-of-29 (86.2%) for 336 yards and two TDs while rushing for 58 yards and three scores.

• At Oklahoma State (10/29), posted top total offense game in school history with 506 yards (239 passing, 267 rushing) and accounted for four total touchdowns.  Became first player in NCAA history to pass for at least 230 yards and rush for at least 250 yards while setting school record for rushing yards in game by quarterbacks (fifth-most overall).  Rushing total included career-long 80-yard touchdown run.

• Against Kansas (11/12), set career high with four touchdown passes.

• In Big 12 Championship against Colorado (12/3), helped team to 70-3 victory by passing for 193 yards and three TDs and adding 57 yards rushing in just over two quarters of play.  Tied Chris Simms’ single-season TD passes mark with 26th of season.

• In BCS National Championship Game victory against Southern California (1/4/06), became fourth two-time Rose Bowl Offensive MVP after going 30-of-40 for 267 yards with no interceptions and rushing for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries (10.5 avg.).  Scored two rushing touchdowns in final 4:03, including game-winning eight-yard run on fourth down with 19 seconds remaining.  

• AS A SOPHOMORE, earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors from Big 12 coaches and Associated Press and second-team All-Big 12 by Dallas Morning News.  Started all 12 games and went 148-of-250 for 1,849 yards and 12 touchdown passes while compiling 1,079 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 167 rushing attempts.  Rushing yardage total led all NCAA quarterbacks.  Became first player in school history to pass and rush for more than 1,000 yards and first school quarterback to rush for 100+ yards in four games during season.  Helped offense rank second nationally in rushing (299.2 yards per game). 

• Against Texas Tech (10/13), earned Big 12 Offensive Player of Week honors after setting then-career highs in total yards (300) and rushing attempts (25) and setting Texas record for quarterbacks with four rushing TDs. 

• Against No. 19 Oklahoma St. (11/6), set then-career highs in completions (18) and passing yards (278) while rushing for 123 additional yards.  Set school record with 85.7 completion percentage (18-of-21) and ended game by completing 12 consecutive passes to break Chris Simms' school record of 11 (2001).

• Following week in 27-23 victory at Kansas (11/13), extended consecutive completions streak to 14 by completing first two passes.  For second consecutive week, set career highs in completions (22) and passing yards (289) and also set career high in attempts (40).  Completed 21-yard TD pass with 11 seconds left to win game.

• Named MVP of Rose Bowl victory over No. 13 Michigan (1/1/05) after completing 16-of-28 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown and rushing for Texas single-game QB record 192 yards and four TDs on 21 carries.  Scored on runs of 60, 23, 20 and 10 yards to tie own school record for rushing TDs in game by quarterback.  Led Longhorns back from 10-point deficit in fourth quarter, including game-winning 47-yard drive during which he rushed for 34 yards.

• Named to All-Bowl Team by ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated and Sporting News.

• AS A REDSHIRT FRESHMAN, played in 12 games, going 6-1 as starter.  Named Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year by conference coaches and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Honorable Mention All-Big 12 by Associated Press.   Earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors from Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, San Antonio Express-News (offensive) and Fort Worth Star-Telegram (offensive).  Completed 84 of 143 passes for 1,155 yards and six touchdowns.  Also ran 135 times for 998 yards and 11 touchdowns (second in team annals for freshman rushing TDs and total TDs).  Became first quarterback in school history to rush and pass for 900 yards in same season.

• Ranked third all-time among Texas freshmen with 2,153 yards of total offense and ranked second for school among non-kicking freshmen with 68 points.

• Became first QB in UT history to have three 100-yard rushing games (10/11 vs. Oklahoma, 10/25 at Baylor, 11/1 vs. Nebraska) in same season, tying RB Ricky Williams (1995) for third-most 100-yard games by freshman in school history.

• Played first five games as backup quarterback before moving into starting role in team's seventh contest (10/18 at Iowa State). 

• Appeared in first career game against New Mexico State (8/31), rushing five times for 61 yards and two TDs while connecting on 60-yard pass. 

• In first career start at Iowa State (10/18), completed 11-of-15 passes (73.3%) for 136 yards and one touchdown while rushing 10 times for 58 yards.

• Set season high with 163 rushing yards on 14 carries against No. 12 Nebraska (11/1), including 65-yard score.  Also passed for two touchdowns in game.

• Against Texas Tech (11/15), set season highs in completions (16), attempts (25), passing yards (213) and passing TDs (two).

• Rushed for 50 yards versus No. 15 Washington State in Holiday Bowl (12/30). 

• Redshirted in 2002.

• Majored in liberal arts.