Los Angeles – It didn’t hit Vince Young when he crossed the goal line one last time Wednesday night. It didn’t hit him when he kissed the crystal ball national championship trophy. It didn’t hit him when he partied with friends and family back at Texas’ hotel in Century City.
It hit him when he retired for the night, when he found himself too hyped up to sleep. He had just enough energy to walk outside. And look up.
“The tears hit me when I got in from hanging out, laid in bed and I was listening to ESPN for a little bit,” Young said at a Thursday morning news conference lined with burnt orange-clad Texas supporters. “Everybody was asleep, and I kind of went on the balcony and just sat out there and had my little words with the man upstairs.
“I’m just a real blessed guy to be in the position I am right now.”
Yes, there are worse sides of the bed to get up from than as quarterback of Texas’ first bona fide national champion in 36 years after beating one of history’s greatest teams by running for 200 yards and three touchdowns and throwing for 267 more yards. You’re a junior and already two-time Rose Bowl most valuable player.
However, the next nine days could be agony for Vince Young. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft is Jan. 15. Young’s decision will have ripple effects that start in Austin, Texas, and reverberate throughout college football.
If Young returns, the Longhorns will be the near-unanimous preseason No. 1. They lose three seniors on offense – all linemen – and four defensive starters, including All-America safety Michael Huff.
But back would be Young, their top five running backs, their top two wideouts and another star-studded recruiting class.
The Longhorns have won 20 consecutive games and would have a direct shot at the national title game. They host Big Ten power Ohio State on Sept. 9. They go to Nebraska (8-4) and Texas Tech (9-3).
“I thought before the game,” Texas coach Mack Brown said, “if we could get on a streak like (the USC Trojans) were last year at this point, we would have a 33-game winning streak because it’s a similar run.”
But if Young goes pro, the Longhorns start over at quarterback. Backup Matt Nordgren is a senior. No one else threw a pass all season. Redshirt freshmen Colt McCoy, Freddy Torres and sophomore Gilbert Zepeda would battle for the starting spot in spring ball.
If Young turns pro, it would leave the preseason No. 1 ranking wide open. Contenders would be No. 4 Ohio State, which returns its entire backfield but loses all three linebackers; No. 6 LSU, which returns all of its skill position players; and No. 9 Notre Dame, which returns most of its offense but loses its top defenders.
Texas insiders say Young will return. After all, no Longhorn has left early for the NFL in 10 years. But Young is more a leader than a follower, and after he stunned top-ranked Southern California 41-38, all bets are off.
To decide, Young said he’ll “just basically be sitting down with my family members, sitting and talking to Coach Brown, a guy I truly, truly respect.”
Young also will get information on where he’ll go from the NFL. With USC’s Matt Leinart expected to be the top quarterback taken, possibly No. 2 to New Orleans, NFL scouting consultant Chris Landry thinks Young could go in the top five or as low as 12th.
“He only needs one team to like him,” said Landry, a former scout with the Cleveland Browns and old Houston Oilers who ran the NFL scouting combine. “Personally, I wouldn’t take him that high because he’s too much of a project. Matt Leinart is more what I look for in a quarterback. I prefer a distributor than a guy who can do it all. Too much centers on one guy.”
Landry said the 6-foot-5 Young’s draft status may not improve by staying another year, but, like Leinart, he’ll be more prepared for the NFL next year.
Young will “be a better passer than Michael Vick,” Landry said of the Atlanta Falcons’ dual-threat star, adding Young is “a tall guy and can see better. Though his throwing motion is a little low, he releases it high enough.”
Young, however, may not have even been the center of attention Thursday if Texas’ defense hadn’t stopped Chatfield High School graduate LenDale White on fourth-and-2 at the Texas 44 with 2:08 left. USC led 38-33, and Trojans coach Pete Carroll could have had his team punt and pin Texas back. White was stopped 6 inches short of a first down.
“If I was Pete Carroll, I would have run the same play in the same situation,” Brown said. “Because we had not stopped LenDale White all night. We had not stopped the power play.”
So the Longhorns went home to see the university clock tower lit up with a No. 1 emblazoned in lights. It hasn’t looked like that in January since 1970, a long drought that put those closest to the program in minor shock.
As Brown’s wife, Sally, said: “You know what? We’re No. 1, and there aren’t any games left.”
They’re just hoping Vince Young is around to light it up again.
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-820-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
