How Does Michael Vick Taking Over At Norfolk State Impact Recruiting?

The former Virginia Tech star was named the program's head coach earlier this week and figures to make a splash in Year 1 on the FCS level

Dec 22, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) along the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Bears 54-11. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-Imagn Images / Howard Smith-Imagn Images

College football just continues to see new curveballs being thrown at it and earlier this week, it got tossed another one.

Michael Vick is stepping out of media and into the collegiate coaching profession.

The former Virginia Tech star was tabbed this past Tuesday as Norfolk State's new head football coach, after Vick was also being courted by Sacramento State before deciding on staying in his home state. The 3-time NFL Pro Bowler confirmed on social media his appointment as the Spartans' new lead man.

"It's an honor to announce that I'll be the new head coach of Norfolk State University...looking forward to coming back home..."

With everyone still trying to digest Bill Belichick becoming the University of North Carolina's head coach, bam, here comes Vick onto the college scene. Now that Vick is officially going to be heading his own college program in 2025, questions are running rampant on how his popularity and recruiting efforts impact the recruiting scene for high school football players.

There's plenty of former professional players that are taking their knowledge and applying it to the next level, whether it's high school or college. Heck, Teddy Bridgewater just led his alma mater, Miami Northwestern to a 41-0 rout in Florida's Class 3A state championship game. Bridgewater had some minimal coaching experience, like Vick, and was able to achieve glory.

Albeit that was high school and this is college, but Vick will have the resources to get the program to where he envisions it at. Question marks will be if he build sit, will they come?

Seeing that Vick's only real coaching experience lies within an intern role he held under Kansas City Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid back in 2017, the former Atlanta Falcons' star quarterback will need to put together a strong coaching staff around him along with a possible general manager to assists Vick.

Belichick brought on former NFL executive Michael Lombardi to serve as the Tar Heels' general manager, helping navigate the 6-time Super Bowl champion head coach through the college football world.

Andy's Rant: How will Bill Belichick transition to recruiting high school football players?

Seeing that Vick, 44, would be much more relatable to today's athlete than probably to the 72-year old Belichick, the new Norfolk State lead man would be likened much more to Colorado's Deion Sanders in comparison to anyone else in the college game.

When taking a look at the model Sanders has put together over in Boulder, the former NFL All-Pro has certainly elevated the Buffaloes fairly quickly over the near two years he's been with the program.

Taking a deeper dive into the Transfer Portal and snatching up players with collegiate experience helped take Colorado from bottom dweller to qualifying for a bowl game this winter.

Problem however for Vick might be with Norfolk State being an FCS school compared to Colorado, an FBS program, might be what separates the kind of immediate success the former NFL quarterback could be able to have in the interim.

In the long-term, however, the possibilities are there with time to see the Spartans steadily improve from the 15-30 record from the previous four seasons they have had.

For recruits, it might be their parents who play a bigger role in pushing their sons to play for Vick over at Norfolk State than anything else. Why you may ask?

Plenty of millennials can remember Vick playing in his hayday over at Virginia Tech, speeding by defenders and taking the Hokies almost single-handily to the 1999 national championship game. they also remember turning on the PS2 and Nintendo Gamecube to play a little Madden 2004, with Vick smack dab on the cover.

If you were someone growing up as a elementary/middle/high schooler when Vick was playing football, you remember the kind of generational impact the southpaw had on the game.

Now Vick hopes he can have a similar jolt entering the college football world with Norfolk State.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi