Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young says football stopped being fun when he entered the NFL.
After a sensational collegiate career at the University of Texas that made him a superstar, things went south for former Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young in the NFL.
In a great piece written for The Players’ Tribune titled “What the Hell Happened to Vince Young?”, the former Titans signal-caller shared his story about the difference in his mentality from high school and college to the pros, among other things.
In it, Young says that playing football stopped being fun when he reached the NFL.
"“The NFL, it’s not fun in the same way that playing with your boys in high school is fun. It’s not fun the same way college is fun. It’s not the playground anymore. Maybe it’s not supposed to be. Fact is, I had a hard time finding the same joy in the game when I got to the NFL.”"
Young also says that after his father died in 2009 the game never felt the same to him.
Young was drafted by the Titans with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and did show some promise in his five seasons in Tennessee, including two appearances in the Pro Bowl.
Things ultimately didn’t pan out with the team that drafted him and he would move on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011, his last season in the NFL.
After his playing days were over, Young’s life spiraled out of control. He battled substance abuse issues and ran into trouble with the law on multiple occasions. Thankfully, Young has since began to get his life back together, as he detailed in an interview last June.
A lot of times a story like Young’s can end very badly, but it appears he’s now on the right track – and we couldn’t be happier for him.