what are your thoughts... stay or go?
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5223984
Should Longhorns' Young stay or should he go?
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Every weekend, it seemed, brought a reason to write about somebody else.[/I]
Meanwhile, Vince Young kept mowing down opponents, 20 in a row now.
He began the regular season with a laugher over Louisiana-Lafayette, confirmed his quality with a comeback at Ohio State, shredded the doubts with a beatdown of archrival Oklahoma, then tied it all up neatly with a devastating showing against Southern California in a Rose Bowl title match for the ages.
Week after week, there was no doubt he made for great copy back in Texas.
Yet somehow, somebody else's story always seemed to be better.
USC quarterback Matt Leinart returned to school, passing up certain millions from the NFL, to take a class in ballroom dancing and keep his eligibility long enough to make a run at an unprecedented third straight national championship. Then Notre Dame came back. And Joe Paterno brought Penn State back. And through it all, the Trojans' other shimmering star, Reggie Bush, was transcendent - here, there and everywhere.
But there's no longer any question about the best story in college football.
It's Young, hands down.
Young said he won't make a decision about turning pro without talking to his family and coaches, but he has to show his hand by Jan. 15. Any reticence aside, the simple fact is that there's nothing left to prove, at least not in the college game.
Young would be a prohibitive favorite to avenge the only setback he's suffered in some time - losing the Heisman Trophy to Bush. He can get stronger, smarter and have a lot more fun staying wrapped in the protective cocoon that coach Mack Brown has designed at Texas. And there's the added motivation, as Young himself noted Thursday, of "helping the next guy" who will try to step into his oversized cleats.
"Basically, you can get better all the time," he added, and those words hung in the air for only a few moments before Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis confirmed them.
He noted Young had made a quantum leap in his decision-making abilities between last season and this one, but that there was another "huge jump" to be made in the near future.
"Quicker decisions, for one," Davis said, reading off a laundry list he carried in his head. "He needs to get more comfortable in the pocket, he needs to work on his play-action, his ball-handling ..."
Somehow, though, the longer Davis' list got, the more you wondered whether he watched the same game the rest of us did the night before.
Young has outgrown the competition at this level. That was apparent from the way he outmaneuvered everybody wearing the USC colors. He ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns and passed for another 267, despite a throwing motion that would give some NFL coaches the shakes. But like Brown, they know all those results in the win column can have a very calming effect.
"What we want in rewards for Vince is what is in his heart, what is best for him, and that will be best for the University of Texas," Brown said. "Somebody asked me, 'If you win the national championship and Vince leaves, what will you do?' I said, 'I'll kiss him.'
"I haven't yet, though," the coach added, cracking the room up.
Brown has a history of hanging onto his juniors, but it will take a miracle to keep that string intact. Young grew up in Houston's hardscrabble Fourth Ward, within a couple of long passes from the stadium where the NFL's Texans play. He made a name for himself at Madison High, he gets standing ovations when he's in the seats at Astros or Rockets games, and even more than the adulation, he's mindful of the opportunities so many of the kids he grew up with have squandered.
"It was a hard, hard time," he recalled. "There was a lot of guys in my neighborhood supposed to be in the position I am right now, or even better, but they're not really doing anything. So it kind of pushes me every time I see them to keep working harder.
"I'm just a real blessed guy," Young said a moment later, "to be in the position I am right now."
Heading into the Rose Bowl, that position was likely somewhere among the top 10 draft prospects. Bush figured to be headed to Houston with the No. 1 pick, and Leinart, too, was likely ranked ahead of Young in that very select queue. Now, it's a different ballgame.
Asked about that shuffle, the bold-faced national championship that moved to the top of his resume, and the almost-irresistible chance to play in his hometown, Young said one more time, "I haven't talked to my family."
That conversation should be short and sweet.
"He's 6-foot-6, 235, runs real fast and jumps sideways. It's not easy for people to tackle him when they're fresh.
"I thought USC had a lot of depth and did a tremendous job of substituting, but he'll still wear you down," Brown said, making the case as succinctly as possible.
But leave it to Young to always have the last word. Someone saw him shaking his head during Brown's assessment and took the gesture to mean Young, finally, was worn out.
"No," he replied, "I was just thinking about the 235. That's the In-and-Out burgers," he said. "That's what he's talking about." Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5223984
Should Longhorns' Young stay or should he go?
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Every weekend, it seemed, brought a reason to write about somebody else.[/I]
Meanwhile, Vince Young kept mowing down opponents, 20 in a row now.
He began the regular season with a laugher over Louisiana-Lafayette, confirmed his quality with a comeback at Ohio State, shredded the doubts with a beatdown of archrival Oklahoma, then tied it all up neatly with a devastating showing against Southern California in a Rose Bowl title match for the ages.
Week after week, there was no doubt he made for great copy back in Texas.
Yet somehow, somebody else's story always seemed to be better.
USC quarterback Matt Leinart returned to school, passing up certain millions from the NFL, to take a class in ballroom dancing and keep his eligibility long enough to make a run at an unprecedented third straight national championship. Then Notre Dame came back. And Joe Paterno brought Penn State back. And through it all, the Trojans' other shimmering star, Reggie Bush, was transcendent - here, there and everywhere.
But there's no longer any question about the best story in college football.
It's Young, hands down.
Young said he won't make a decision about turning pro without talking to his family and coaches, but he has to show his hand by Jan. 15. Any reticence aside, the simple fact is that there's nothing left to prove, at least not in the college game.
Young would be a prohibitive favorite to avenge the only setback he's suffered in some time - losing the Heisman Trophy to Bush. He can get stronger, smarter and have a lot more fun staying wrapped in the protective cocoon that coach Mack Brown has designed at Texas. And there's the added motivation, as Young himself noted Thursday, of "helping the next guy" who will try to step into his oversized cleats.
"Basically, you can get better all the time," he added, and those words hung in the air for only a few moments before Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis confirmed them.
He noted Young had made a quantum leap in his decision-making abilities between last season and this one, but that there was another "huge jump" to be made in the near future.
"Quicker decisions, for one," Davis said, reading off a laundry list he carried in his head. "He needs to get more comfortable in the pocket, he needs to work on his play-action, his ball-handling ..."
Somehow, though, the longer Davis' list got, the more you wondered whether he watched the same game the rest of us did the night before.
Young has outgrown the competition at this level. That was apparent from the way he outmaneuvered everybody wearing the USC colors. He ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns and passed for another 267, despite a throwing motion that would give some NFL coaches the shakes. But like Brown, they know all those results in the win column can have a very calming effect.
"What we want in rewards for Vince is what is in his heart, what is best for him, and that will be best for the University of Texas," Brown said. "Somebody asked me, 'If you win the national championship and Vince leaves, what will you do?' I said, 'I'll kiss him.'
"I haven't yet, though," the coach added, cracking the room up.
Brown has a history of hanging onto his juniors, but it will take a miracle to keep that string intact. Young grew up in Houston's hardscrabble Fourth Ward, within a couple of long passes from the stadium where the NFL's Texans play. He made a name for himself at Madison High, he gets standing ovations when he's in the seats at Astros or Rockets games, and even more than the adulation, he's mindful of the opportunities so many of the kids he grew up with have squandered.
"It was a hard, hard time," he recalled. "There was a lot of guys in my neighborhood supposed to be in the position I am right now, or even better, but they're not really doing anything. So it kind of pushes me every time I see them to keep working harder.
"I'm just a real blessed guy," Young said a moment later, "to be in the position I am right now."
Heading into the Rose Bowl, that position was likely somewhere among the top 10 draft prospects. Bush figured to be headed to Houston with the No. 1 pick, and Leinart, too, was likely ranked ahead of Young in that very select queue. Now, it's a different ballgame.
Asked about that shuffle, the bold-faced national championship that moved to the top of his resume, and the almost-irresistible chance to play in his hometown, Young said one more time, "I haven't talked to my family."
That conversation should be short and sweet.
"He's 6-foot-6, 235, runs real fast and jumps sideways. It's not easy for people to tackle him when they're fresh.
"I thought USC had a lot of depth and did a tremendous job of substituting, but he'll still wear you down," Brown said, making the case as succinctly as possible.
But leave it to Young to always have the last word. Someone saw him shaking his head during Brown's assessment and took the gesture to mean Young, finally, was worn out.
"No," he replied, "I was just thinking about the 235. That's the In-and-Out burgers," he said. "That's what he's talking about." Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press.
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