Former NFL QB Vince Young signs with Roughriders

Years removed from his glory days in the NCAA and NFL, Vince Young faces an uphill battle trying to resurrect his pro football career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The CFL club took a flyer on Young on Thursday, signing the former Texas Longhorns star to a two-year deal (one year plus an option). The 33-year-old spent eight years in the NFL but last played in a regular-season game in 2011 with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I wouldn’t say (this is) a comeback, I’d just say an opportunity,” Young said at a news conference in Regina. “I always wanted to play football again but didn’t know how it was going to happen.

“God always works in mysterious ways.” The six-foot-five, 232-pound Young was 30-2 at Texas and in 2005 led the school to an NCAA title. He went in the first round, third overall, of the 2006 NFL draft to the Tennessee Titans and was the league’s top rookie and a Pro Bowl selection that season. Young, a 2005 Heisman Trophy finalist, started 50-of-60 career NFL games and in ‘09 was its comeback player and earned his second Pro Bowl nomination. But the Houston native has been out of football since 2014 when he retired after being released by the Cleveland Browns.

Young said he’s remained active in retirement, playing flag football, breaking down game film with Longhorns quarterbacks and coaching his son’s youth squad. Young added he started his off-season conditioning program last month.

However, his biggest challenge isn’t simply chipping away the rust. It’s trying to do so while venturing into a completely different game.