Vick made history in ’01 as youngest No. 1 overall selection in the draft
Editor’s note: As we wait for the sports world to return, we’re occasionally looking back at some of our favorite Virginian-Pilot and Daily
Press stories. The following story appeared in the Daily Press on April 22, 2001.
— Jami Frankenberry, sports editor
During its annual draft of college players, the NFL allots 15 minutes for each first-round pick. The Atlanta Falcons on Saturday used 37 seconds.
“With the first selection of the 2001 NFL draft,” Commissioner Paul Tagliabue intoned from the podium at Madison Square Garden, “the Atlanta Falcons select Michael Vick, quarterback, Virginia Tech.”
From Ridley Circle to Lane Stadium, cheers echoed across the commonwealth. Once again, Michael Vick had made history.
“I can’t explain the feeling,” he said of the stroll across stage to meet the commish and pose for the cameras. “I wish everybody could do that.”
Alas, not everyone can launch a football 70-plus yards with the flick of his left wrist. And not everyone can stutter-step past the fiercest defenders. Certainly not at age 20, and certainly not after only two seasons of college experience.
Vick can. Raised in Newport News’ East End, schooled at Warwick High and groomed at Virginia Tech, he is the youngest player chosen No. 1 since the draft’s inception in 1936.
And if his agents have their way, he’s about to become the richest. The numbers proposed by Andre Colona and Mike Sullivan of Octagon Sports — approximately $50 million over six years, including a signing bonus of $10-15 million — would make Vick the highest-paid rookie in league history.
The San Diego Chargers apparently balked at the price. They owned the first choice of the draft until Friday afternoon, when they traded it to the Falcons
for three other picks and wide receiver Tim Dwight.
“San Diego made a major mistake,” New Orleans Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks said. “They’re going to end up regretting it.”
Understand that Brooks is rather biased. Vick is his cousin, and like Vick, Brooks hails from Newport News and played high school ball for Tommy Reamon.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Brooks said.
Nor would Reamon or the 15 family members who accompanied Vick to New York, including his parents, paternal grandfather and younger brother, who recorded every moment of the trip on videotape. By mid-afternoon Saturday, the entire Vick family was wearing redand-black Falcons caps, thrilled that Michael won’t be 3,000 miles away.
“Everybody says it’s a beautiful place,” said Vick’s mother, Brenda Boddie. “I’m about to see.”
“I’m very excited,” Vick said. “It gives my family a great opportunity to come see me play. It’s a blessing. Everything happens for a reason.”
Fifteen-plus months ago, Vick came to New York for the 1999 Heisman Trophy presentation. He was a wide-eyed, smalltown kid groping with celebrity’s trappings.
He returned Wednesday as a confident young man accustomed to stalkarazzi and limousines. So it is when you hopscotch the continent. So it is when you schmooze with Tiger Woods and Mark McGwire, and share a management agency with Anna Kournikova and David Robinson.
“I’m a professional now,” Vick said. “I have to show it.”
Now this was no ordinary week in New York. Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane played to rave reviews as Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” opened at the
St. James. Nicole Kidman and the A-list crowd attended a screening of her new flick, “Moulin Rouge.” The Knicks open the playoffs today, and the Devils are defending their Stanley Cup.
But Vick’s Q ratings suffered not. He and other draft prospects bunked on Park Avenue at the $399-a-night W Hotel. They met with Tagliabue, posed for October’s issue of GQ and got bumped at the last minute by MTV.
Vick had solo gigs as well. He explored possible endorsement deals and did live interviews on ESPN, CBS and HBO.
Through it all, Vick maintained his trademark poise and smile.
“I look at it as a positive,” he told ESPN’s Chris Fowler shortly after the Chargers-Falcons swap Friday. “But at the same time, it also rocked my world.”
“I will be prepared,” he told CBS’ Bryant Gumbel. “I will promise you that.”
“I still have a lot to learn,” he told Bob Costas on HBO. “Hopefully, the coaches, whoever I’m working with, will guide me through it.”
When Costas raised the trite issue of black quarterbacks, Vick veered away gracefully.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white,” he said, “as long as you’re doing the job.”
Vick shared the HBO stage with former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason, who counseled Vick to be patient.
“This is the greatest position in sports and the hardest position to play in all of sports,” Esiason said of quarterback. “That’s why they make the big bucks. Everyone wants to be the quarterback. Everyone wants to second-guess the quarterback. …
“My only advice would be try to slow down. Learn from the guy in front of you. I’ve seen a lot of young quarterbacks thrust into the position and fail from the get-go and never revitalize their careers.”
But if Vick listened to all the pundits, he’d be schizophrenic.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who each April monopolizes more air time than Regis Philbin, couldn’t decide if Vick is the next Sammy Baugh or the next David Klingler.
In one breath, Kiper called Vick the riskiest No. 1 pick in more than 20 years, an impatient, injury-prone, inaccurate passer. In the next, Kiper called Vick “the best athlete ever to play quarterback.”
Former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, another ESPN yap artist, mocked Kiper’s waffling. He called Vick “absolutely wonderful” and said his mechanics are better than those of Peyton Manning, the draft’s No. 1 selection in 1998.
Sports Illustrated presented equally contrasting views, these from a panel discussion on Vick. Bill Walsh, who coached Joe Montana and Steve Young, said Vick isn’t close to ready for the league. James Harris, personnel director for the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, said Vick could become pro football’s greatest playmaker.
“I just hope and pray I can learn the offense as quick as possible,” Vick said, “because that’s the key right now. … I realize there’s a lot of things I need to do to become a drop-back passer. That’s the easy part. The hard part is adjusting to the speed of the game.”
While San Diego was expected to nurture Vick slowly, Atlanta may quicken the pace. Coach Dan Reeves and team president Taylor Smith said that while 35-yearold Chris Chandler remains the Falcons’ starting quarterback, game action for
Vick in 2001 is probable.
“I know there’s a lot of expectations,” Vick said. “But I know how to conduct myself. I know how to handle myself.”
The last two years have been a whirlwind — quarterbacking Virginia Tech to the national championship game; finishing third in the Heisman race; breaking the collegiate record for passing efficiency; renouncing two years of college eligibility to enter the draft.
The pace isn’t about to change. There were parties Saturday night and a flight to Atlanta today. Contract negotiations, mini-camp and preseason drills remain.
Through it all, the folks who know him best insist Michael Vick hasn’t changed.
“We’re normal people,” Brenda Boddie said. “We just have a little more money now. I told the man in Zales the other day, ‘I’ll be back for that necklace.’ ”