Texas QB Vince Young Lands High In ESPN Top 25 Players of 21st Century Ranking

ESPN's Bill Connelly ranked Young fourth among all players to play in the 21st century, just barely edged out by some of the best in CFB history.

Sep 16, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Matthew McConaughey (L) and former Texas Longhorns quarterback Vince Young (R) meet on the sidelines before the game against the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Texas Longhorns legend Vince Young is no stranger to a close finish for a major accolade. In 2005, a season in which Young led the Longhorns to a national championship victory, the dual-threat quarterback lost the race to the Heisman at the hands of another speedster, USC's Reggie Bush, the star of the team the Longhorns defeated.

Almost twenty years later, Bill Connelly of ESPN has released his top 25 players of the 21st century, ranking players from the start of 2000 all the way to the end of the original CFP era. Young was given another top position, but couldn't quite reach the top spot. Young was ranked fourth among all players to have played college football in the 21st century, a remarkable feat for an even more remarkable player.

Young did beat out Bush, but was behind Auburn's Cam Newton, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield and Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh, all prolific college and professional football players.

Many Texas fans took to X to voice their dismay with Young being ranked behind a rival quarterback in Mayfield, with many pointing to Mayfield's lack of a national title as a starting quarterback. Seems pretty important to be ranked top two, especially when the next quarterback on the list without a national championship under their belt was fellow Sooner Kyler Murray, all the way down at 18.

2003-2005: UT quarterback Vince Young celebrates wth the fans after beating OU 45-12 at the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bown in Dallas on Sat. Oct. 8, 2005. | Jay Janner / American-Statesman / USA

Young's resume isn't perfect, especially not in the ways that Newton and Suh are for their respective positions. Young is the only skill position player in the top nine without a Heisman, and his first two years in Austin had fewer combined passing yards than his third. Similar to Newton, who wasn't a starter until his junior year, the two quarterbacks had a specific breakout year that hoisted them to stardom and legend status.

Young is the only Longhorn on the list of 25, but former Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson made the 'First 10 out' list. Johnson was a two-time All-American and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, tallying 458 tackles and nine interceptions in his career.

Texas is one of the few teams to have two of the top 35 players in the 21st century, especially one on both sides of the ball, and is one of the few teams to win a national championship during that time.

Heading into the next 25 years of college football history, the likes of Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning, and Anthony Hill will look to add their names to the top 50 players of the 21st century. Look out for that article in 2049!