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No. 1 vs. No. 2: Longhorns have questions at QB
By Jim Vertuno
The Associated Press
<!-- ARTICLE BODYTEXT --> <!--ARTICLE TEXT--> EDITOR'S NOTE: Barring an unforeseen collapse against lightly regarded underdogs in Week One, No. 1 Ohio State will meet No. 2 Texas on Sept. 9. The Buckeyes have won their only two meetings in a 1-2 matchup, beating USC 27-16 in the 1969 Rose Bowl, and upsetting Miami 31-24 (2 OT) in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. Today we take a closer look at the 2006 Game of the Year.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Vince Young used to crack the whip during summer workouts to toughen his Texas teammates.
He loosened them up in crunch time by laughing and dancing his way through warmups before the biggest games. And, of course, he was the guy the Longhorns counted on to make plays when Texas needed them the most.
"He was the pied piper," coach Mack Brown said of Young.After he led Texas to a national title last season, he unexpectedly jumped to the NFL and left a huge void in Austin.
As much as Texas will miss Young's touchdown runs and passes, his infectious can't-lose attitude might be the most difficult ingredient for the Longhorns to replace in 2006.
Texas returns 16 starters from the team that won the school's first undisputed national title in 36 years, yet finding another leader like Young might be next to impossible.
Brown is a master recruiter who has filled the roster with blue-chip players year after year. But judging which tailback, defensive end, wide receiver or quarterback will emerge as the next "pied piper" is a guessing game at best.
Will he be the yeller delivering fiery speeches in practice and the locker room? Or the jokester cracking up the bus to the stadium? Will he be the silent type who scores touchdowns and leaves the cheering to his teammates?
Brown says he can't simply anoint the next team leader.
"We (the coaches) can't determine that," he said. "The team determines that. It doesn't have to be a senior. Vince was a junior. (And) halfway through his sophomore year, he started growing into that leadership role."
Nor does it have to be one player. Leadership by committee can work and might even be better, Brown said.
"If the one guy has a bad day," he said, "the whole team has a bad day."
Part of what made Young such a dynamic force was that he was the quarterback. He handled every snap in the big games and calmed nerves in the huddle.
The Longhorns will play a pair of freshmen quarterbacks this season. Neither Colt McCoy and Jevan Snead has even thrown a pass in a college game let alone led the team to a comeback win.
A possible successor mentioned by Longhorns players is senior tailback Selvin Young. He was Vince Young's roommate last year.
Selvin Young rushed for 461 yards and eight touchdowns as a part-time starter last season and said he learned about leadership from watching Vince. The two still regularly text message each other.
"Someone's got to step in and fill shoes that are vacant. Leadership comes when teammates look at a person and think that person is going to go all out and give everything for the team," Selvin Young said. "And at the same time be able to say something to a person who's not doing that."
Vince Young did all that.
He also passed for 3,036 yards and 26 touchdowns last season and ran for 1,050 yards and 12 more scores. He drove Texas to the winning TDs late in the fourth quarter against Ohio State on the road and against Southern California in the Rose Bowl.
Off the field, he got after teammates who didn't give their all in practice or got into some trouble.
All of it blended to perfection.
To avoid complacency after an 11-1 season in 2004, Young left his teammates a message on the locker room grease board: If they wanted to beat Ohio State, they'd better come to voluntary workouts.
To him, they were mandatory.
That was his serious side. He also joked, laughed and led the pregame "flow sessions" of grooving to tunes.
The Longhorns snapped a five-game losing streak to Oklahoma and won Brown's first Big 12 title in '05.
And when Texas was down by five with 19 seconds left in the Rose Bowl? No sweat, baby. Young kept his cool and kept his team rolling right through that fourth down sprint for the end zone that won the game.
Senior offensive guard Kasey Studdard said the veterans remember the work ethic and attitude Young inspired and expected the players to match it this summer.
"It was a little bit different because Vince wasn't there cracking jokes, but as for working out, everybody was there every practice," Studdard said.
"I don't really think anything changed except Vince being gone."
Maybe he's right.
Someone left a similar message about getting ready for Ohio State this year, said sophomore tailback Jamaal Charles, although he doesn't know who wrote it.
Texas will find out quickly who its leaders are. After playing North Texas in the season opener Sept. 2, the Longhorns host the Buckeyes a week later in another game that could be an early barometer on the national championship race.
Brown has less than a month to find his next great leader.
"The great ones know they are going to be successful," Brown said. "Coach (Darrell) Royal always said, 'If you've got 'it,' you'll make it. If you don't have 'it,' you won't, and if you don't know what 'it' is, then you don't have a chance. We're trying to figure out who has 'it' and who doesn't."
No. 1 vs. No. 2: Longhorns have questions at QB
By Jim Vertuno
The Associated Press
<!-- ARTICLE BODYTEXT --> <!--ARTICLE TEXT--> EDITOR'S NOTE: Barring an unforeseen collapse against lightly regarded underdogs in Week One, No. 1 Ohio State will meet No. 2 Texas on Sept. 9. The Buckeyes have won their only two meetings in a 1-2 matchup, beating USC 27-16 in the 1969 Rose Bowl, and upsetting Miami 31-24 (2 OT) in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. Today we take a closer look at the 2006 Game of the Year.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Vince Young used to crack the whip during summer workouts to toughen his Texas teammates.
He loosened them up in crunch time by laughing and dancing his way through warmups before the biggest games. And, of course, he was the guy the Longhorns counted on to make plays when Texas needed them the most.
"He was the pied piper," coach Mack Brown said of Young.After he led Texas to a national title last season, he unexpectedly jumped to the NFL and left a huge void in Austin.
As much as Texas will miss Young's touchdown runs and passes, his infectious can't-lose attitude might be the most difficult ingredient for the Longhorns to replace in 2006.
Texas returns 16 starters from the team that won the school's first undisputed national title in 36 years, yet finding another leader like Young might be next to impossible.
Brown is a master recruiter who has filled the roster with blue-chip players year after year. But judging which tailback, defensive end, wide receiver or quarterback will emerge as the next "pied piper" is a guessing game at best.
Will he be the yeller delivering fiery speeches in practice and the locker room? Or the jokester cracking up the bus to the stadium? Will he be the silent type who scores touchdowns and leaves the cheering to his teammates?
Brown says he can't simply anoint the next team leader.
"We (the coaches) can't determine that," he said. "The team determines that. It doesn't have to be a senior. Vince was a junior. (And) halfway through his sophomore year, he started growing into that leadership role."
Nor does it have to be one player. Leadership by committee can work and might even be better, Brown said.
"If the one guy has a bad day," he said, "the whole team has a bad day."
Part of what made Young such a dynamic force was that he was the quarterback. He handled every snap in the big games and calmed nerves in the huddle.
The Longhorns will play a pair of freshmen quarterbacks this season. Neither Colt McCoy and Jevan Snead has even thrown a pass in a college game let alone led the team to a comeback win.
A possible successor mentioned by Longhorns players is senior tailback Selvin Young. He was Vince Young's roommate last year.
Selvin Young rushed for 461 yards and eight touchdowns as a part-time starter last season and said he learned about leadership from watching Vince. The two still regularly text message each other.
"Someone's got to step in and fill shoes that are vacant. Leadership comes when teammates look at a person and think that person is going to go all out and give everything for the team," Selvin Young said. "And at the same time be able to say something to a person who's not doing that."
Vince Young did all that.
He also passed for 3,036 yards and 26 touchdowns last season and ran for 1,050 yards and 12 more scores. He drove Texas to the winning TDs late in the fourth quarter against Ohio State on the road and against Southern California in the Rose Bowl.
Off the field, he got after teammates who didn't give their all in practice or got into some trouble.
All of it blended to perfection.
To avoid complacency after an 11-1 season in 2004, Young left his teammates a message on the locker room grease board: If they wanted to beat Ohio State, they'd better come to voluntary workouts.
To him, they were mandatory.
That was his serious side. He also joked, laughed and led the pregame "flow sessions" of grooving to tunes.
The Longhorns snapped a five-game losing streak to Oklahoma and won Brown's first Big 12 title in '05.
And when Texas was down by five with 19 seconds left in the Rose Bowl? No sweat, baby. Young kept his cool and kept his team rolling right through that fourth down sprint for the end zone that won the game.
Senior offensive guard Kasey Studdard said the veterans remember the work ethic and attitude Young inspired and expected the players to match it this summer.
"It was a little bit different because Vince wasn't there cracking jokes, but as for working out, everybody was there every practice," Studdard said.
"I don't really think anything changed except Vince being gone."
Maybe he's right.
Someone left a similar message about getting ready for Ohio State this year, said sophomore tailback Jamaal Charles, although he doesn't know who wrote it.
Texas will find out quickly who its leaders are. After playing North Texas in the season opener Sept. 2, the Longhorns host the Buckeyes a week later in another game that could be an early barometer on the national championship race.
Brown has less than a month to find his next great leader.
"The great ones know they are going to be successful," Brown said. "Coach (Darrell) Royal always said, 'If you've got 'it,' you'll make it. If you don't have 'it,' you won't, and if you don't know what 'it' is, then you don't have a chance. We're trying to figure out who has 'it' and who doesn't."
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