Athletes - Steve Young

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	Athletes - Steve Young

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.

High school career

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

College

Young played college football at Brigham Young University. Initially, he struggled at passing, and BYU's coaching staff considered switching him to 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 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.

Professional career

USFL

Young signed a record 10-year, $40m contract with the Los Angeles Express of the 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.

NFL

Tampa Bay Buccanners

Young signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being the first player selected in that 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. 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.

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.

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