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Michael Vick is only a few months into his tenure with Norfolk State and he's already fielded a question about if his Spartans will one day face off against Deion Sanders's Colorado Buffaloes in the near future. The question came in an early February interview with Dan Patrick on his eponymous show.
Vick thought about the notion of the matchup, and then put it into perspective.
“It's a possibility. But..you know what? It would have to make all the sense in the world. You know, I spoke to Deion Sanders about those type of games and scheduling big-time games for the school. You just want to be cautious when you're doing that. You know, you don't want to put the kids in a bad situation. You know, obviously it helps the school out and we'll pick and choose our spots in what's the right team to play before I put them in a situation where it's a detriment to them. And, when we do…when we finally schedule that game, we'll be ready to play that game and be competitive in that game.”
A Norfolk State vs. Colorado matchup would certainly be a box-office matchup that would certainly attract the interest of the sports world and generate a lot of money and attention for Norfolk State. However, Vick will need to further develop his coaching skills and strengthen his roster before that matchup occurs, which he clearly understands. But, Vick's response to a potential matchup against Colorado puts Sanders in a full-circle moment.
When Sanders was the head coach of Jackson State, many fans and pundits wanted to see how his teams would fare against the best in college football. At the 2022 SWAC Media Day, Sanders was asked if he could foresee his Tiger team playing then-Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Alabama.
“He’s not gonna play us right now,” Sanders said of Saban. “We’re not ready to that. We’re not into sacrificing our kids to get a check. He got to give me another year.”
Sanders echoed a sentiment about roster construction similar to what Vick shared with Dan Patrick.
“I got to beef up in the front,” he said. “The difference in Power 5s and HBCUs right now is those big guys in the middle. It’s not the quarterbacks, it’s not the receivers and DBs or the skill positions. It’s those big dogs in the middle. We’ve got to beef up that to be able to compete with something like that.”
Vick's Norfolk State squad might pose a challenge to Colorado, much like North Dakota State did in their season opener against the Buffaloes last August. However, he'll need to strengthen his team for a potential matchup against a Colorado program that, despite losing Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, is likely to improve in the coming years.
