Vince Young, Returning To Finish His Degree, Challenges Texans To Go To College (Watch)

By Tim Taliaferro in Blog on May 18, 2011 at 11:50 am | 10 Comments

Meet NFL Quarterback Vince Young from Generation TX on Vimeo.

Favored son Vince Young has returned to Texas and to UT to finish his degree in education.

In a new video released today by Generation TX, an effort started last year by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to encourage students to pursue college, the former Longhorn QB says that when growing up on the south side of Houston, he didn’t think he’d ever get to go to college.

“I didn’t think that academic-wise I was smart enough, that I could keep up with other students,” Young says. “But when I set my mind to it, with the strong supporting cast I had with my family members, it pushed me to be the man that I am today.”

Young says that growing up he was told he would drop out and become a druggie. Instead, though, Young repeated ninth grade in night school, so he could get caught up and improve his grades. He ended up graduating from Madison High School and enrolling at Texas.

The experience taught him a lesson, he says, and at UT the standout football player says he made the academic honor roll.

The Vince Young Foundation and Generation TX strive to “inspire and engage [the] youth of Texas to become the most successful generation ever.”