Vince Young To Share Life Story in Book, Movie
Vince Young’s life story has more than enough plot twists.
It features a less-than-idyllic childhood, supreme athletic gifts that helped him become the central figure of one of the greatest college football games ever played and a professional career that started with a bang and ended with a whimper.
Now, the former Tennessee Titans quarterback is doing what he can to make sure that story is told.
Young revealed to ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt in an on-air interview Friday that he has a book and a documentary about his life in development. He did not specify whether the two were related or separate projects but noted that the interest in him spiked following the publication of his first-person account, What the Hell Happened to Vince Young?, which appeared on The Players’ Tribune two months ago.
“I’m just happy that it came out of my words because a lot of people don’t hear from me,” Young told Van Pelt. “They don’t know what happened, what’s been said. All these type of things go on and everybody has their opinions and assumptions and things like that. I’m just happy that a lot of people heard that and listened to it and they really got the point that I was making.”
The Titans chose Young with the third overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, months after he led Texas to the BCS championship with a stirring performance in the Rose Bowl. He completed 30 of 40 passes for 267 yards and rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. His 8-yard run with 19 seconds to play provided the decisive points in a 41-38 victory over USC.
He became Tennessee’s starter in Week 4 of his rookie season and was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year after he led the team to eight victories in 13 starts.
Over the next four years he and Kerry Collins took turns being the starter as Young fell in and out of favor with then-head coach Jeff Fisher. Young was 30-18 (including the postseason) with one playoff start during his five seasons with the Titans. Collins was 15-18 (including the postseason) with one playoff appearance over the same span.
During the Titans era (1999-present) only Steve McNair won more games as a starting quarterback than Young.
His relationship with Fisher reached the breaking point with a locker room shouting match following a Week 11 loss to Washington in 2010. The quarterback was placed on injured reserve days later and was released several months after that.
Over the next three seasons, Young spent time with Philadelphia, Buffalo, Green Bay and Cleveland but appeared in just six games (three starts), all with the Eagles in 2011. Three years ago, his attempt to make a professional comeback in the CFL failed.
These days, he said, he is involved in private business and is more than comfortable with the state of things.
“Vince, right now, is blessed, man,” he said. “Happy, man. Enjoying life. … Giving back to the community.
“I’m just kind of out of the media but underneath the radar just doing my thing and just staying blessed and happy with my family.”
If his projects come to fruition, his life story will be featured in multiple media.
