Steve Young

1 Biography
2 Statistics
- 2.1 Advanced Stats
3 References
4 Related Articles
- 4.1 Recent Steve Young ArmchairGM Stories

[edit] Biography

Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961 in Salt Lake City, Utah), is a former quarterback for the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Los Angeles Express of the defunct United States Football League. He was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXIX, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, the first left-handed quarterback to be so honored.

[edit] High school career

While attending Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut, Young starred in football, basketball, and baseball, in addition to posting a 4.2 GPA.

[edit] College

Young played college football at Brigham Young University (he is a descendant of Brigham Young [1]). Initially, he struggled at passing, and BYU's coaching staff considered watching him for defensive back because of his athleticism. However, he worked hard to improve his quarterbacking skills and eventually succeeded record-setting Jim McMahon as the Cougars' starting QB. Young's senior season 1983 was spectacular. He passed for 3,902 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season, and his 71.3% completion percentage set an NCAA single-season record. He also contributed 544 rushing yards on the ground. With Young at quarterback, BYU set an NCAA record by averaging 584.2 yards of total offense per game, with 311.8 of those yards coming from Young's passing and rushing. The Cougars finished the year with an impressive 11-1 record; Young was named First Team All-American and finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy (behind Nebraska running back Mike Rozier). Young capped his college career by scoring the game-winning touchdown in BYU's 21-17 victory over Missouri in the 1983 Holiday Bowl.

Young finished his 3 seasons with 592 pass completions for 7,733 yards and 56 touchdowns, along with 1,048 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. In 2001, he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] USFL

Young signed a record 10-year, $40m contract with the Los Angeles Express of the now-defunct United States Football League in 1984. However, the league ceased operations in 1985 after a disastrous move to a fall/winter schedule to compete with the National Football League. Young's contract with the team set forth that Young would be paid one million dollars annually for 42 years, or until 2026. Twenty years after the USFL folded, Young reportedly continues to receive his annuity.

[edit] NFL

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Young signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being the first player selected in the year's supplemental draft. However, the Buccaneers posted 2-14 win-loss records in each of Young's two seasons with them, and Young's record as starter was a miserable 3-16.

San Francisco 49ers

When the Buccaneers selected University of Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde first overall in the 1987 NFL draft, Young was deemed a bust and traded to the San Francisco 49ers on April 24, 1987, to serve as a backup to Joe Montana. The Buccaneers received 2nd and 4th round draft picks in the trade, which they used to draft Miami linebacker Winston Moss and Arizona State wide receiver Bruce Hill, respectively.

Steve Young played behind Montana his first several years, but shone as a backup. In a 1988 game, the scrambling southpaw shredded the Minnesota Vikings for a 49-yard, game-winning touchdown. Following an injury to Montana in the 1990 playoffs, Young got his chance to lead the 49ers in the 1991 season. He won the NFL's Most Valuable Player award in 1992 and again in 1994. He also led the league in pass efficiency for an NFL record four straight years. The crowning achievement of the Steve Young-led San Francisco 49ers was their dominating 49-26 win over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. On the strength of a six touchdown performance that surpassed the previous record of five, owned by the man Young replaced, Joe Montana, Steve Young was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Young also threw for 325 yards and rushed for 49 yards, making him the first player ever to finish a Super Bowl as the game's lead in both rushing and passing yards.

In the three years following Super Bowl XXIX, the 49ers would be eliminated each year by Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, twice in San Francisco. However, in 1998, Young would finally best Favre in the NFC wild card game, as he threw the winning touchdown to wide receiver Terrell Owens as time expired to win the game 30-27. In deference to Dwight Clark's legendary catch against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC championship game, Owens' grab was called "The Catch II". However, a week later, the 49ers were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons 20-18 in the divisional playoffs (although many experts believe that they would have won and perhaps played in their sixth Super Bowl had Garrison Hearst, the team's explosive running back, not been injured on the game's first play from scrimmage).

1999 eventually became Steve Young's final season. After suffering his fourth concussion in three years in the third game of the regular season (officially, Young has suffered seven concussions; many believe the number to be higher), he was relegated to the sidelines and retired at the end of the season. Reportedly, Young suffered from symptoms of post-concussion syndrome for weeks afterward.

Despite not becoming the permanant starter on his team until his 8th season, and only playing all 16 games in a season twice during his 15-year career, Young's stastics were extremely high. He completed 2,667 of 4,149 passes for 33,124 yards and 232 touchdowns, with 107 interceptions. He also gainined 4,239 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns on the ground. His 96.8 passer rating was the highest in NFL history at the time of his retirement, and his 4,239 rushing yards were the second most ever gained by a quarterback behind Randall Cunningham.

The 49ers will retire Young's number 8 during halftime of their October 5th game v.s. the New England Patriots.

[edit] Broadcasting

After retiring, Steve Young became an analyst for ESPN, and appears every week on NFL Countdown, ABC Sports' coverage of the playoffs and the Super Bowl, and on the Super Bowl edition of NFL Primetime.

Young also appeared in the Disney Original Show The Jersey, while he was still playing in the NFL.

While Steve Young was playing in the NFL he made a cereal commercial for an All Sports drink with Jerry Rice.

[edit] Legacy

A left-handed thrower, Young was famous for his ability to "scramble" away from the pass rush. He holds the record for most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, 43. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to have four consecutive seasons with a passer rating of over 100; he also led the league in passer rating those four years, another NFL record. He held the single-season passer rating record, 112.8 (made in the 1994-95 season) until Indianapolis' Peyton Manning broke it during the 2004-2005 season. His career passer rating of 96.8 was the highest of any quarterback in NFL history when he retired. That mark was officially surpassed in 2002, when Kurt Warner made the required 1500 pass attempts to be eligible, dropping Young to second place; Joe Montana was third with a 92.3 rating. By the end of the 2004 season, Young regained his career passer rating record when Warner's rating dropped. Young's career completion rating (64.3%) was also a record before Warner qualified.

Young was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 5, 2005 and was enshrined August 7, 2005. His induction speech was given by his father, Grit Young.

[edit] Other Info

Young is the great-great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, a former President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for whom Brigham Young University is named.
Steve Young and his family are devout Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints).
His father, LeGrande "Grit" Young, played football at BYU in the late 1950's. He led the school in scoring in 1955 and in rushing and total offense in 1959.
Steve Young's younger brothers Mike and Tom both played quarterback at BYU after Steve, but neither received much playing time.
In 1994, Young graduated from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School.
Young spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2000, leading some to speculate that he might be interested in entering politics in the future.
Married former model Barbara Graham, on March 15, 2000 in a Mormon ceremony at the Kona Hawaii Temple in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii. They have two sons together.
Steve Young's 1988 scramble against the Minnesota Vikings was featured in a 2006 Burger King commercial with the Burger King "King" digitally superimposed over the young quarterback.
When Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, Young was the first volunteer. During the 2002 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, Young carried the placard for Great Britain. Additionally, Young was among the contingent at Salt Lake City in February,1998 to receive the Olympic Flag after the 1998 Winter Olympics closed in Nagano,Japan at Salt Lake City International Airport.

[edit] Statistics

<stats> Player=Steve Young Sport=NFL </stats>

[edit] Advanced Stats

(Normalized to 2005 environment)

Season	Team	Pos	G	Plays	   TAY  NetPts  Pts/Pl	 PAR	PAR/G	WARP
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1985	tam	qb	5	105.9	 445.0	 37.08	0.350	 12.41	2.48	0.31
1986	tam	qb	14	249.7	1196.0	 99.67	0.399	 41.49	2.96	1.04
1987	sfo	qb	8	 57.8	 505.0	 42.08	0.728	 28.62	3.58	0.72
1988	sfo	qb	11	 76.5	 455.5	 37.96	0.496	 20.13	1.83	0.50
1989	sfo	qb	10	 82.8	 580.5	 48.38	0.584	 29.08	2.91	0.73
1990	sfo	qb	6	 48.2	 387.5	 32.29	0.670	 21.06	3.51	0.53
1991	sfo	qb	11	211.7	1568.0	130.67	0.617	 81.34	7.39	2.03
1992	sfo	qb	16	293.8	2331.5	194.29	0.661	125.84	7.86	3.15
1993	sfo	qb	16	299.4	2034.0	169.50	0.566	 99.74	6.23	2.49
1994	sfo	qb	16	278.8	2110.0	175.83	0.631	110.87	6.93	2.77
1995	sfo	qb	11	257.7	1462.0	121.83	0.473	 61.79	5.62	1.54
1996	sfo	qb	12	204.4	1413.5	117.79	0.576	 70.17	5.85	1.75
1997	sfo	qb	15	224.2	1589.5	132.46	0.591	 80.22	5.35	2.01
1998	sfo	qb	15	327.2	2296.5	191.38	0.585	115.14	7.68	2.88
1999	sfo	qb	3	 51.3	 128.0	 10.67	0.208	 -1.29 -0.43   -0.03
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