Longhorns Legends Vince Young, Colt McCoy Both Named Top-15 QBs Since 2000

Vince Young and Colt McCoy are not only Texas Longhorns legends, but all-time greats within the scope of this century of college football.

There have been many great quarterbacks to take the field donning the classic burnt orange jerseys. There may be a couple on the roster that will etch their name into the history books in Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning.

However, in ESPN's top-75 quarterbacks since 2000, two Texas Longhorns legends stand above the rest. Vince Young and Colt McCoy were ranked third and 12th, respectively, by ESPN, as both had historic careers resulting in national championship berths for the Longhorns. 

McCoy was incredibly accurate in his time in Austin, as his 76.7 completion percentage in 2008 stood for 12 years as the Football Bowl Subdivision record.

In his career from 2006-09, McCoy threw for program record 13,253 yards and 112 touchdowns. On the ground, he ran for 1,571 yards and 20 scores.

"He finished in the Heisman top three twice (2208, 2009), and his legacy was on the verge of perfect completion until he left 2009's BCS Championship with injury on the Horns' first possession," ESPN's Bill Connelly wrote. "Forty-five career wins and one giant what-if."

And now "Invincible."

Young only trails Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield and Auburn's Cam Newton as the greatest and second-best quarterbacks, respectively, since the turn of the millennium.

His legacy wasn't written until the back half of his career which spanned 2003-05. Young was benched midway through 2004 and that seemed to light a fire that resulted in 6,040 passing yards, 44 touchdowns, 3,127 rushing yards, 37 scores on the ground and a national championship victory that we remember him as today.

"UT averaged 38 points per game and rolled to a Rose Bowl win to finish 2004, then fielded one o the best teams of our lifetime in 2005, going 13-0 while Young threw for 3,036 yards and rushed for 1,050," Connelly said. "The last eight of those rushing yards gave the Horns a last-second win over Matt Leinart and USC in the greatest national title game ever played."

---

You can follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Longhorns? Click Here to Subscribe to the Longhorns Country Newsletter

Want even more Texas Longhorns? Check out the SI.com team page here

Follow Longhorns Country on Twitter and Facebook

Make sure to subscribe to the Longhorns Country Podcast today! Click here To Listen