Young was named 2003 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year by league coaches, as well as the Associated Press Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after moving into the starting QB spot in the seventh game of last season. The 6-5, 225-pounder became the first Longhorn player to throw for 1,000+ yards and rush for 900 (948 yards on 126 carries) in the same season. His 7.4 ypc led the nation while averaging a team-leading 179.4 yards of total offense per game.
"He'll be a great quarterback before he leaves Texas," head coach Mack Brown said. "He's so talented and he made such great plays last year that I think we forget he was a redshirt freshman."
Young registered 11 rushing TDs whiling completing 84-of-143 passes (58.7 percent) for a freshman school record 1,155 yards. He added six passing TDs but tossed seven INTs during his redshirt-freshman campaign. Young's coming-out party last was against eventual Big 12 champion Kansas State. Last October, Young came off the bench to direct the game-winning drive against the Wildcats with a 52-yard toss to FL Tony Jeffery and his fourth down 1-yard TD plunge late in the fourth quarter.
Semifinalists will be announced in early November. The winner will be announced Dec. 9 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show from Orlando, Fla., and will then be honored at the 28th Annual O'Brien Awards Dinner in February at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
Among the 42 candidates on the preseason list are six QBs that Texas will face during the 2004 season: Jason White (Sr, Oklahoma), Matt Jones (Sr, Arkansas), Brad Smith, (Jr, Missouri), Joel Klatt (Jr, Colorado), Scott Hall (Jr, North Texas) and Reggie McNeal (Jr, Texas A&M).
The O'Brien Award is the country's oldest award for college quarterbacks and is named in honor of the late Davey O'Brien, the All-American and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for Texas Christian University.