Young, Slay tackle conference honors

AUSTIN, Texas -- The fourth-quarter touchdown pass against Ohio State. The first win over Oklahoma since 2000. The second-half rescue against Oklahoma State.

Whatever No. 2 Texas needed this season, quarterback Vince Young delivered in dazzling and spectacular fashion.

When the 2005 season started, conventional wisdom was that the Longhorns would go as far as Young could take them. Eleven wins later, they are still on the move, playing Saturday for the Big 12 title. Another victory sends them back to California for a second straight Rose Bowl, only this time with the national championship on the line.

"We're so close," Young said. "We can smell the Rose right now."

On Wednesday, the junior quarterback was a unanimous selection as the Associated Press' Big 12 offensive player of the year in voting by 20 reporters who regularly cover the league for newspapers in the seven states with conference teams.

Texas Tech safety Dwayne Slay was selected as the conference's defensive player of the year. Oklahoma State freshman running back Mike Hamilton was picked as the league offensive newcomer of the year. Oklahoma junior defensive end C.J. Ah You was named the defensive newcomer of the year.

The all-conference teams will be released today.

Young is the first Texas player to win offensive player of the year honors since quarterback Major Applewhite in 1999. In doing so, he broke Applewhite's school records for single-season total offense (3,369) and the career mark (8,450).

Shedding his reputation as a run-first quarterback, Young passed for 2,576 yards and 23 touchdowns and rushed for 793 yards and eight more scores in leading the Longhorns to their first 11-0 record since 1983.

Young's numbers and penchant for making big plays in Texas' biggest games have made him a contender for the Heisman Trophy, an award Young insists is a distant thought as he tries to lead the Longhorns to their first Big 12 title since 1996. Texas plays Colorado (7-4) Saturday in the league championship game in Houston.

"What really matters is that we're out there having a good time and getting wins," Young said.

Young's last-minute touchdown pass to Limas Sweed sent the Longhorns to a 25-22 win at Ohio State in the second game. He threw for three touchdowns against Oklahoma to help Texas snap a five-game losing streak to the Sooners. The next week against Colorado, he ran for three touchdowns, passed for two more and threw for a career-high 336 yards.

"There's no question he's the best football player in America," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said after a 66-14 Texas victory. "I don't have a vote for the Heisman, but if I did, he'd get it. Nobody does for their team what Vince Young does for his."

His best game came at Oklahoma State, when he ran for 267 yards, passed for 239 and accounted for four touchdowns to rally Texas from a 28-9 deficit to a 47-28 victory. His 80-yard touchdown run in the third quarter changed momentum in the game and perhaps saved the season.

"If you pick the most valuable player in the country, it has to be Vince," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "We wouldn't be sitting here today without Vince."

Other winners

No Big 12 defensive player made bigger hits than Slay, who beat out seven other vote-getters for the AP honor.

The senior was second in the Big 12 in tackles with 101 and led the league with eight forced fumbles.

"He is a big, explosive, mean guy," Tech coach Mike Leach said.

At Oklahoma, junior college transfer Ah You became a starter when Larry Birdine, the Sooners' top returning defensive end from 2004, was injured and lost for the season before the first game. Ah You had 39 tackles for the Sooners, who ranked sixth in the nation in run defense.

Oklahoma State's Hamilton led the Cowboys with 961 yards rushing, including 194 against Texas.