What does it take to be No. 1

Many words have been used to describe Houston Madison quarterback Vincent Young. But there are only two words that truly fit – the best.

Young put on a show for the ages on Saturday night against Fort Bend Hightower in the Houston Astrodome. Everything he did worked, and along the way he proved to Rivals100.com that he is the nation’s best player.

Sure Ben Olson and Lorenzo Booker are elite players, but when it comes to Young – nobody can do it better.

Want him to stand back in the pocket and throw the ball? No problem. He fired laser-guided rockets to his receivers on everything from the 10-yard out to the deep post to the quick slant. Young still has some room to improve on his passing fundamentals but he has to have one of the strongest arms that Rivals100.com has seen in recent history.

But the show didn’t end there.

Facing a defense that knew what was coming at them, Young also picked apart Hightower with his running ability.

It’s almost impossible to count the number of times that Young took an option play and turned it into big yards or the number of times that he left defenders grasping nothing but air.

Let’s just say by the time the smoke settled in the first half, Young had put up 211 yards of total offense up all by himself against a very talented Hightower squad.

Three plays show how great Mr. Young is. And all three of them were some of the most electrifying plays that have been seen this year – in high school, college and the pros.

Early in the first quarter, Young took a snap from Hightower’s 35-yard line. He ran the option to the left and suddenly four defenders barreled in on him. Instead of pitching it right away to his trailing back, he held it until all of the defenders could focus on him.

Then at the last absolute second he pitched the ball – a la Tommie Frazier – to Courtney Lewis. Lewis took the perfect pitch and raced down the sideline untouched for the score. Young was pulverized on the play by the four defenders but he got back up and ran down to hold the ball on the extra point.

Then in the second quarter, things got really rolling for the Madison Marlin Express.

Young was at his own 40-yard line when he rolled to the right on a play-action pass. Right when it looked like he was thinking about running the ball, he heaved a pass – off the wrong foot – 65-yards in the air to a streaking receiver for the touchdown.

It wasn’t one of those passes that hang up in the air and take forever to come down. Simply put, Young threw a dart and it connected with a bull’s-eye. It was one of those passes that was pure perfection because he threw it to the receiver’s outside shoulder and only he had a shot to catch it right before he raced into the corner of the end zone.

Then right before halftime, Young landed the knockout blow that helped Madison put up 56 points on Hightower. In a critical third-and-eight play, Young took the snap and dropped back to pass. But when he reached his fifth step, he streaked forward and dodged two defenders at the line-of-scrimmage.

As he got past the line he juked two defensive backs and then raced untouched in the end zone for the score. Everybody in the Astrodome knew the play was coming – but Young couldn’t be stopped.

And he won’t be stopped either in the next rankings period. So when you see the Rivals100 Team updated for the month of January, look closely because there will be a new No. 1 because Young is the best.