Bob Cook

The relationship Texas quarterback Vince Young is going to have with whatever NFL team drafts him will be based on infatuation. Had he stayed for his senior season, working and improving as he did in his junior year, that relationship could have been based on love.

Love isn't always forever, but at least it has the potential to last, and it does forgive. Infatuation is great for a little while, but it inevitably doesn't measure up to the early hype, and it leads only to heartache. And the first time Young struggles as a Texan, Saint or Titan, look out — infatuation will turn to disdain in a heartbeat.

Sure, we all thought we fell in love with Young during his spectacular performance in the Rose Bowl against USC, just about single-handedly breaking the Trojans' 34-game winning streak and winning Texas' first national championship since 1969. But in what we thought was love, we overlook his flaws — an oddball delivery, a tendency to run first and pass later, always taking his snaps from the shotgun, rarely showing an ability to complete a pass when the pocket is collapsing, or when his receiver is closely guarded.

If you think I'm some know-nothing, then maybe you'll accept the opinion of this guy, who told The Associated Press where Young is lacking:

"Quicker decisions for one. He needs to get more comfortable in the pocket, he needs to work on his play-action, his ball-handling..."

That was Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis — speaking AFTER the Rose Bowl.

Young is a dangerous commodity — the hot quarterback of the moment.

If you don't think that can ruin players and teams, ask the Cincinnati Bengals about Akili Smith, who went from nobody to a top-three pick in a year, and back to a nobody in about the same time.

After Young's sophomore season — which ended with a spectacular Rose Bowl performance in a comeback victory (over Michigan) — he was still barely on the NFL draft radar. He certainly was no first-rounder.

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To Young's credit, he worked hard with Davis over the off-season to address his quarterbacking flaws, and improved mightily as a junior, becoming the first NCAA Division I quarterback ever to throw for more than 3,000 yards and run for more than 1,000 in a season. It meant something, too, that he did it without the security blanket of running back Cedric Benson, playing as a Chicago Bear this season.

But still, even while he racked up the Maxwell Award and the Davey O'Brien Award (but not the Heisman), Young wasn't a top-five pick. In fact, some reports had him staying in school for that reason.

Then came the Rose Bowl.

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