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Fresh off of his Heisman Trophy victory, Travis Hunter weighed in on Michael Vick becoming head coach of Norfolk State University. Vick officially became the head coach of Norfolk State University in December and Hunter weighed in on the move on the latest episode of his podcast The Travis Hunter Show.
“Starting off like Coach Prime… Hopefully he can go there and give them a little spark. Hey, starting at an HBCU though… He’s home helping out young kids, he’s definitely making a great impact on his community. That’s great. Can’t even say nothing about that. All you could do is cheer for him. Back in his community, giving back.”
He continued, “They’ll definitely be supportive of him. There’s nothing else you can say bad about that. He didn’t have to do that. He was never into coaching, so he didn’t have to go back and help people out. It’s not even just about him helping people out, it’s about he loves football so much he decided, let me get back into football.”
Although Vick does not have coaching experience at the high school or college level, he boasts a notable football career and a strong connection to his home state of Virginia. Vick was born in Newport News, Virginia, played high school football at Homer L. Ferguson High School, and chose to stay in Virginia to play for Virginia Tech.
Vick was selected first overall in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and went on to have a phenomenal career, redefining the quarterback position with his speed and quickness, making big plays and scoring rushing touchdowns. He retired in 2017.
Now, Michael Vick takes the helm of a Norfolk State program that has struggled since moving to the FCS in 1997. Since joining the MEAC that same year, the Spartans have only had five winning seasons. In 2016, the NCAA stripped Norfolk State of all its wins from 2009-2011, including the 2011 MEAC title, after the program failed to oversee its eligibility certification process properly.
As a result, Norfolk State has only enjoyed two winning seasons since 1997: 2007 under Pete Adrian (8-3) and 2021 under Dawson Odoms (6-5). In November, Odoms was relieved of his duties at Norfolk State following a 4-8 overall record and 2-3 record in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
He's already made significant moves, hiring former NFL offensive lineman and Virginia native Elton Brown to his coaching staff and signing former Kennesaw State duel-threat quarterback Roy Wood III.
