Steve Young (sportsperson)

Steve Young (born October 11, 1961) was a quarterback (QB) for the San Francisco 49ers.

College

Young played college football at Brigham Young University and was a runner up in the Heisman voting his senior year.

Professional career

Young signed with the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League in 1984. After that league folded in 1985, Young first played for Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1985 to 1986.

Young was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1987, to serve as a backup to Joe Montana. He played under Montana his first several years, but shone as a backup. He once ran for a 48 yard game winning touchdown against the Vikings.

Following an injury to Montana in the 1991 playoffs, Young got his chance to lead the 49ers in the 1992 season and won the NFL MVP award, and would win his second in 1994. He led the 1994 49ers to a victory in Super Bowl XXIX over the Chargers, where he won the Super Bowl MVP award and threw a Super Bowl record 6 touchdowns (TDs). The previous record of 5 TDs belonged to none other than Joe Montana.

In the three years following his Super Bowl win, his 49ers would be eliminated each year by Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, twice in San Francisco, once in Green Bay. However, in 1998, Young would finally best Favre, as he threw the winning touchdown to Terrell Owens as time expired. He played in San Francisco until his retirement after the 1999 season, the major factor being a severe concussion he recieved three games into the season, his fourth in three years.

After retiring, Young became an analyst for ESPN, and appears every week on NFL Countdown.

Legacy

A left-handed thrower, Young was famous for his ability to "scramble" away from the pass rush. He holds the record for most career rushing TDs for QBs (43). He is the only QB in history to have four consecutive seasons with a passer rating of over 100; he also led the league in passer ratings those four years, another NFL record. He also holds the single-season passer rating record, 112.8, in the 94?95 season. He compiled a 70% completion rating, 35 TDs and only 10 INT. His career passer rating of 96.8 was the highest of any quarterback in NFL history, but was officially surpassed in 2002, when Kurt Warner made the required 1500 pass attempts (in 3rd place on the list is Joe Montana, who had a 92.3 rating). His career completion rating (64.3%) was also a record, before Warner (66.4%) qualified.

He is the great-great-great-grandson of both Brigham Young and his brother Joseph Young, and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.