Vince Young's rise to Texas legend began at Ohio State (ESPN)

[Blake Munroe]

MONTHS BEFORE HE glided past the Rose Bowl pylon for Texas' first national championship in 35 years, Vince Young scrawled a challenge on the locker room whiteboard:

If you want to beat Ohio State, meet me on the practice field at 7 tonight.

During the 2005 offseason, the Texas quarterback grew tired of watching teammates skip workouts and slouch in meetings. The Longhorns had defeated Michigan in Pasadena to finish the 2004 season with 11 victories. But Young sensed complacency and entitlement ahead of the next season and knew a national title would require winning in Columbus in Week 2.

"Guys were coming in, feeling themselves," Young said. "But that type of character was going to get your ass whooped by Ohio State. We needed to button it up and get to work."

After Young's whiteboard message, nobody missed a summer workout -- not even the voluntary practice that night.

"It was a complete turnaround," said running back Selvin Young, Vince Young's roommate.

That leadership set the tone for one of the greatest seasons in college football history -- spearheaded by one of its greatest players. As Ohio State All-American linebacker A.J. Hawk put it: "That dude was Superman."

Though he finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Reggie Bush, Young produced a season of iconic moments, bookended by winning touchdowns: first at Ohio State, and finally against USC.

To reach the Rose Bowl, Texas had to survive the fourth-ranked Buckeyes, who had title aspirations of their own.

"That Ohio State team was stacked," said Longhorns safety Michael Griffin, one of 13 future NFL first-round draft picks to appear in the game. "[Texas coach] Mack Brown was basically telling us, whoever wins should make it to the national title game."

Two decades later, the stakes are high again....

 

It's too long to post all of it, but read the full article here:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/46020555/college-football-vince-young-rise-texas-legend-began-ohio-state

 

[Doc Strangemood]

Began?  Had begun way before then.  Was Rose Bowl MVP against Michigan the previous season.

ESPN.

 

[rgvhorn80]

3 minutes ago, Doc Strangemood said:

Began?  Had begun way before then.  Was Rose Bowl MVP against Michigan the previous season.

ESPN.

 

Agreed. Happened in the Rose Bowl against Michigan 

[Sundancekid]

Oklahoma State and Kansas were both challenging games that year.

[HelloThere]

I thought I knew everything there was to know about that season, but Take it to the Storm was new to me. Surprises me zero that Ramonce is mentioned on that though, have a feeling he had a few trips to the storm. 😂

[LovingBuckeye]

Delete this! 😉