Nine months ago, former Virginia Tech legend Michael Vick had a dream come true. The former Hokies' quarterback was named head coach at Norfolk State last December, and after a long road, he made his coaching debut on Thursday night for the Spartans.
Norfolk State opened the season with a 27-7 loss to the Towson Tigers at home, but result aside, it was a night that the former Virginia Tech signal caller won't soon forget. However, Vick has his work cut out for himself in rebuilding a program that failed to win more than four games in the last three seasons.
However, before he took the field, he was a guest onset for ESPN's First Take with Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim. You know it's a big event when Stephen A. makes a trip to your campus for his show, and Vick joined him and explained what Colorado coach Deion Sanders gave him for advice. Maybe it's some advice Vick should take and run with, as Colorado was 1-11 when Sanders took over, and he led them to nine wins just two years later. Sanders began at Jackson State before making the jump to the PAC-12 and the Big 12.
“The best piece of advice that I got from Prime was do it your way, put your spin on it, make it what you want it to be” Vick said. “I never dreamt of being a head coach, but I’ve only watched my coaches and appreciated them and respected them so much that I was able to go back and draw on those experiences like right on the spot.”
Vick was one of the most exciting quarterbacks to play the position in college. He was 22-2 at Virginia Tech before being the first overall pick of the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft. During his time in Blacksburg, he was the Big East Player of the Year in 1999 before finishing in the Top 10 voting for the Heisman Trophy a year later.
Michael Vick drops first game as head coach
Things didn't go as Vick had planned in his opener against Towson as his team was sluggish on offense to begin the game, and Towson scored a touchdown on their first possession. They added two field goals before halftime for a 13-0 lead. Norfolk State didn't pick up its first first down until the second quarter when Vick's first gamble as a head coach paid off by going for it on a 4th-and-1 from their 23-yard line. Quarterback Otto Kuhns picked up three yards on a keeper for a first down.
It was a game of mistakes for the Spartans, something you expect in the first game of a season, but some of them were self-inflicted mistakes. Holding penalties on returns and along the offensive line, which took away a touchdown in the first half, are going to happen, but after recovering a fumble at the Tigers' 43-yard line, they took a delay of game before snapping the ball on offense. They also had a field goal blocked on the final play of the first half. They scored their only touchdown on a Jaylen Laudermilk 8-yard run later in the drive. Expect Vick and his staff to clean up mistakes before next weekend.
Vick and Norfolk State will look for their first win when they host Virginia State next Saturday night at 6 p.m.