Texas Football: 3 greatest Longhorns never to win the Heisman

Some might consider the 2005 campaign that former Texas superstar quarterback Vince Young put together to help his team win the BCS National Championship Game was something that is worthy of the Heisman Trophy in retrospect. Since the actual Heisman winner in 2005, USC Trojans running back Reggie Bush, had his award rescinded by the NCAA, Young would technically be the next man up.

In terms of actually being the most valuable player on a college football team in any year in the last two decades, few names stick out as much as VY did for the Longhorns title team in 2005. VY got the Longhorns a title ring after beating Bush, quarterback Matt Leinart and the Trojans in the 2006 Rose Bowl on a key 4th-and-5 conversion that every fan on the Forty Acres remembers vividly.

In 13 games played in 2005, Young racked up 3,036 passing yards and 26 touchdowns through the air compared to just 10 interceptions. He added just over 1,000 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. He finished up second in the final voting ahead of Leinart, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, and Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson.

As a result of his solid performance during the 2005 season, VY would be picked up third overall in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. His NFL career didn’t pan out as anticipated, but that shouldn’t take too much away from the memory that was definitely a Heisman-worthy junior season in 2005.