Is it ironic that the newest quarterback in the camp of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is named Young but he really isn’t? I mean kudos to Vince Young to get a contract to play some football when he is a whisker away from being 34 years old. Now in football terms, that’s somewhat old. Especially for a guy who was more of a force when he ran the ball as opposed to throwing it.
There are very few quarterbacks on either side of the border who run well and are past 30 but good for Vince thinking he can still do this.
I like to see players having all sorts of confidence in their abilitiy. It’s what sets them apart from the rest of us when it comes to sport. The Rider’s brass has given him a chance to prove something, anything and he’s onboard.
Sometime however, reality will set in and I hope for his sake it’s before he gets hurt.
Vince Young was a star in college with Texas, leading the Longhorns to a national title and that’s no easy feat.
He had a couple of decent season with Tennesse in the NFL but then the wheels fell off and rolled away from him. His last season saw him toss four touchdown passes and nine interceptions with Philadelphia. It seems that was enough for Rider Head Coach Chris Jones to say he had been looking for players who have been successful in the past few years and apparently this defined success for Jones.
Along with the age factor working against Young he also has to learn a new set of rules, a new offence and a new style of defence which includes that extra man on the other side of the ball.
It’s amazing how that can confuse so many quarterbacks who have been in the league a few years, not to mention those who never played.
There are plenty of talented guys from the NFL in the past who maybe figured they would take over the CFL but failed.
Vince Ferragamo, Cleo Lemon and Akili Smith all come to mind.
It’s a different game and these guys were thrust into starter roles based on reputation. Those who have trotted north of the border and made it work did so as back-ups to a veteran, learned the game from the safety of the sidelines and then made their mark.
I am pretty sure the Riders are not going to wait long for Young to mature as in three years he’s more likely to retire than start.
Now he is competing for the starter job against Kevin Glenn who will be 38 years old before the regular season begins but Glenn has all the experience to make it work while Young has zero. It’s where you have to start but in his case it might be where he finishes as well. In addition to Glenn you have Brandon Bridge, Jake Waters, G.J. Kinne and Bryan Bennett in the mix as well. All younger and two with a better taste of the CFL than Young has.
I am not hoping he fails. I love the underdog story but all the facts are stacked against him for making it out of training camp and into a starting role.
Good Luck Vince Young. I have a feeling you are going to need plenty of it.
