Now suddenly Young is the belle of the ball. A 6-foot-5, 230-pound belle who has been likened to Michael Vick if he were the size of Daunte Culpepper. If the Houston Texans don't take him first, or if the New Orleans Saints don't take him second, then it appears the Tennessee Titans will take him third. Young will enter the NFL a wealthy man.

Certainly Young is a great college quarterback. But Young needs more seasoning. Even if he stays in a shotgun offense — like his mentor, Tennessee's Steve McNair, did in college — he needs to practice being a pocket quarterback. He needs to learn how to stand in the pocket, look downfield, and think pass first. A lot has been said about Young's intangibles, his swagger, his ability to win, but tell that to a team of NFL veterans watching their rookie quarterback's sidearm throws getting knocked down by defensive lineman who are a little bigger, taller and faster than the ones at Louisiana-Lafayette.

In the NFL, it's good to be a mobile quarterback, being able to get away from the rush, but it's not so good to be a running quarterback. (Tom Brady is a great example of a mobile quarterback who rarely runs.) Look at Vick. While breathtaking at times, he's getting more injury-prone as his career goes on. Plus, Vick has yet to establish he can win games with his arm alone. And that's one reason Atlanta is regressing as a franchise, with infatuation not quite at disdain, but getting there.

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Being a young, well-paid rookie hotshot on a lousy team is a terrible place to learn to overcome your flaws. That's in part why Young's Rose Bowl counterpart, Matt Leinart, stayed for his senior year at USC.

Leinart would have most definitely been the first pick of the 2005 draft — and he would have gotten creamed in San Francisco. Not only that, but Leinart hadn't yet answered the questions about his arm strength, especially coming off of shoulder surgery.

Leinart likely isn't going to be the No. 1 pick in 2006, but he's falling no further than third. And while he'll still be on a lousy team, at the least, he's more confident in himself, and whichever team takes him will be more confident in him.

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Young would take a risk by returning to Texas. He could get hurt. He could get his flaws picked apart even more, and lose draft position. But even in the latter scenario, at least he might go to a better team that won't throw him to the wolves right away — and potentially kill his confidence.

With his apparent turnabout to turn pro, Young himself is showing he might be more infatuated with the idea of going to the NFL this year than he is in love with it. Young should stick around until he's sure, and NFL teams are sure, the love is real.

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