WILLisms.com: Vince Young vs. Reggie Bush -- Round II

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Vince Young vs. Reggie Bush -- Round II

Will posted last year about Vincy Young being the right pick for the Heisman. I, well, disagreed, but it was just after Reggie Bush lit my ASU Sun Devils up for 150 yards and SC came back from being down 21-3 at halftime and my sunburn from sitting in the North endzone at Sun Devil Stadium had still not healed.

Texas Quarterback Vince Young (a junior) is unquestionably the best player in college football and the only serious candidate worthy of the Heisman trophy. USC all-purpose dynamo Reggie Bush (also a junior) is certainly fun to watch, and he's definitely important to his team, but his prodigious and ubiquitous Heisman hype in the media is entirely unwarranted.

Well, they ain't seniors this year, so we don't get to see them dueling for the Heisman, but we did get to see the Number 2 and Number 3 overall picks playing some football tonight against each other.

Bush 6 carries for 59 yards (including a highlight reel Sportscenter play)
Young 4/11 for 56 yards

Now I am not going to claim this demonstrates anything more than that it is much more difficult to learn Norm Chow's offense for a Quarterback than a Running Back. Chow had the chance to draft a player he personally coached in college (and whose number 7 Cardinals Jersey I am currently wearing), Heisman Trophy Winner Matt Lienert, but instead the Titans went with Young. Bush and Young will forever be linked in much the same way Peyton Manning and San Diego Charger draft pick Ryan Leif are still linked. OK, bad comparison.

But the point of all of this--IT IS FOOTBALL SEASON! I just got back from watching Arizona play Pittsburgh at the brand spanking new indoor stadium in Glendale, Arizona, that features a retractible natural grass FIELD to go along with the retractible roof. It was 100 degrees walking up to the stadium, but I almost needed a light jacket for the 68 degrees inside.

So since Will is slacking on his posts, I guess I better say "hook'em Horns" and let's see what Texas has to replace Vince Young. And let's hope that the Houston Oil...er...the Titans get better play from VY. TGIF--S as in Football Season.

Posted by Justin B. · 13 August 2006 02:23 AM

Comments

Justin...You are a lucky duck. I miss Arizona sooooo much! Oh, AND, By the way, You are doing a terrific job along with Jay Tea and Ken...

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at August 13, 2006 08:48 AM

Vince actually played pretty well. Did you see the dropped pass(es)? Especially the would-be 83-yard TD that hit the receiver's hands in stride, then bobbled out.

Posted by: Will Franklin at August 13, 2006 10:32 AM

Only saw highlights. They must have spent an hour on sportscenter just showing Bush over and over and over. One run in preseason and Bush is the next Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, and Sweetness rolled into one.

My issues with Reggie involve his upright running style and the fact that in 3 years at SC, he never took a major hit because SC was so dominant. The real question is how he holds up over time considering the average life of a running back is 3 years.

As for Young, he has the physical talent and running ability that will help him ease into a career and make big plays. You can water down the offense and add to it as time goes on. But what remains (and don't say his college passing efficiency means much) is to see how he develops into a pocket passer and NFL Quarterback. But Norm Chow is a quarterback guru and then some. Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Ty Detmer, Steve Young, Jim McMahon. And he thought enough of Young to draft him. Again, I defer to his ability to mold Young and his ability to spot talent.

Posted by: Justin B at August 13, 2006 01:41 PM

As evidenced by his improved passing from his sophomore season to his junior season at Texas, Vince Young is definitely moldable (for lack of a better term). He has to be if he wants to stick in the NFL as a QB.

Posted by: Brandon at August 14, 2006 12:10 PM