In a shocking move sure to stun the entire nation, the Rose Bowl announced Monday that Vince Young has been elected to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.
Young is part of a four-member class that includes legends George Halas, Randall McDaniel and Pop Warner.
Best remembered as the patriarchal member of the Chicago Bears, Halas participated in the 1919 Rose Bowl while playing for Great Lakes Navy, where he earned MVP honors in leading his club to a 17-0 win over the Mare Island Marines. Halas caught a 32-yard touchdown pass and returned an interception for 77 yards, which still stands a century later as the longest non-scoring interception return in Rose Bowl history.
McDaniel is a 2009 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was a two-time All-American while playing offensive guard at Arizona State. He led the Sun Devils to their first Rose Bowl appearance, a 22-15 win over Michigan.
Warner was a titan of early college football and made three Rose Bowl appearances. He coached Stanford to a 27-10 loss to Knute Rockne and Notre Dame in the 1925 Rose Bowl, a 7-7 Stanford tie with Alabama in 1927 and, finally, a 7-6 win over Pittsburgh in 1928.
And then, finally, there’s Young. Before turning in his iconic performance against USC in 2006, Young arguably played his way into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame with a sensational game to beat Michigan in 2005. He completed 16-of-28 passes for 180 yards with a touchdown and an interception while also rushing 21 times for 192 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Longhorns back from a 31-21 deficit for a 38-37 win.
He followed that performance with an even better one a year later. Facing USC for the national championship, Young completed 30-of-40 passes for 267 yards while rushing 19 times for 200 yards and three touchdowns as Texas scored the final 15 points to dethrone the Trojans, 41-38. Young’s two Rose Bowl performances set game records for total offense (467), rushing yards by a quarterback (200), total touchdowns (five) and points responsible for (30).
The 2018 class will be inducted on Dec. 31 outside the Rose Bowl Stadium. The 105th Rose Bowl Game will take place on Jan. 1, 2019.