COLLEGE FOOTBALL Texas' Young to enter draft

The quarterback announced that he will bypass his final season.
WIRE REPORTS
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas quarterback Vince Young, a junior who led the Longhorns to a national championship in Wednesday's Rose Bowl, announced Sunday that he will forego his final college season and enter the NFL draft.
"I've decided to enter the draft this year and go to the NFL," Young said. "[To] my coaches and my teammates and everybody who came in contact with me to make me better as an athlete, I just want to say, 'Thank you."
"I know everyone's behind me. I will not let y'all down."
Young (6-foot-5, 233 pounds), who racked up 467 yards of total offense in the Longhorns' 41-38 victory over Southern California, is projected by NFL draft analysts to be taken among the top three players in April's draft.
Young, winner of the 2005 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award and runner-up for the 2005 Heisman Trophy, finished 30-2 as Texas' starting quarterback in his college career. By leading the Longhorns back from a 38-26 deficit in the final 6:42 against USC, Young lifted Texas to a 13-0 record and the school's first national championship since 1970.
Set record in 2005
During the course of the 2005 season, Young became the first college football player to rush for more than 1,000 yards and pass for more than 3,000 yards in a season.
Although the Houston Texans, Young's hometown franchise, own the top pick in the 2006 draft, owner Bob McNair and team officials have given multiple public indications that they intend to select USC running back Reggie Bush with the top pick, assuming that Bush declares for the draft, as expected. Texans' officials say they remain satisfied with existing quarterback David Carr.
The next two teams in the draft order, the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans, both have need for a quarterback and have shown interest in Young.
In a statement, Texas coach Mack Brown said he met with Young and his family Sunday morning and fully supports Young's decision.
"We love Vince and appreciate all the great things he's done for the University of Texas on and off the field," Brown said. "We'll miss him, but want him to do as well in the NFL as he did in college."
First time in 8 years
In his eight seasons at Texas, Brown never before has had a player leave early for the NFL.
Young's decision could influence that of junior offensive tackle Justin Blalock, who is also considering an early jump to the NFL. When asked at the Rose Bowl if Young turning pro would impact his decision, Blalock said, "Somewhat."
With Young headed to the NFL, the front-runner to become the Longhorns' quarterback in 2006 becomes Colt McCoy, who will be a redshirt freshman next fall.
McCoy would be pushed for the job by Jevan Snead, who has given an oral commitment to the Longhorns and plans to enroll for the spring semester so that he can go through spring drills in Austin. The Longhorns play host to Ohio State in September.
'Huge' loss
Asked in the wake of the team's Rose Bowl triumph how Young's departure might affect the Longhorns, offensive coordinator Greg Davis said Thursday that it would be a "huge" loss to wave goodbye to Young.
"Offenses are quarterback-driven. There's no question about that. So, Vince's decision will be huge," Davis said. "But . . . we've won a bunch of games before [Vince] and hopefully we'll win a bunch after."
Young said he also planned to get his degree and said his mother told him that it was his decision.
"I'll always be a Longhorn," he said. "I'll always bleed orange."
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