Virginia Tech Legend Michael Vick is 40
Virginia Tech legend Michael Vick, the greatest quarterback in school history, turned 40 on Friday, June 26th.
Outside of sharing a birthday with yours truly, Vick's greatest accomplishment in his career was guiding Virginia Tech to a 1999 National Championship appearance against the Florida State Seminoles. Behind Vick, Virginia Tech's football program was elevated to national relevance, where it remained for the majority of Frank Beamer's tenure as head coach.
Vick is a major reason why expectations are astronomically high for the football program to this day.
While the Hokies lost that game to Chris Weinke, Peter Warrick, and legendary head coach Bobby Bowden, the memories of that season and Vick's career at Virginia Tech will last a lifetime.
To this day, Vick remains one of the most electric quarterbacks that college football has ever seen. For the younger audience, he was Lamar Jackson with a rocket arm.
In his two seasons as Virginia Tech's quarterback, Vick completed 56% of his passes for 3,299 yards and 21 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He also rushed for an impressive 1,299 yards and 17 scores on the ground, while averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
While Vick had a topsy-turvy NFL career due to injuries and off-field legal issues surrounding his involvement in dog-fighting, his M.O. remained the same. He was electric both on the ground and through the air over the course of his 13 NFL seasons.
Vick completed 56% of his passes in the NFL for 22,464 yards and 133 touchdowns to 88 interceptions. He also rushed for 6,109 yards over the course of his career with 33 touchdowns, while averaging 7.0 yards per attempt.
While he was boom-or-bust in terms of his gun-slinging mentality as a passer, Vick was every bit as electric at the NFL level as he was in college. His four Pro Bowl appearances are a testament to just how good he was as a pro.
So here's to 40 year-old Michael Vick, who remains one of Virginia Tech's best players of all time.
