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Added expectations Vick may not be ready for NFL's pressures
Here's a story about Michael Vick: In December 1999, I went to Blacksburg, Va., to interview Virginia Tech players in advance of their Sugar Bowl appearance against Florida State. The Hokies were, at the time, the hottest story in college football, having just finished an 11-0 season. Vick was their star, a redshirt quarterback who could do things on a football field that nobody in the college game had seen before. So I needed to spend some time with him. Problem was, Vick was tired of interviews. Tired of cameras, notebooks and autographs. Tired of explaining to everybody why he redshirted his freshman year ("I actually wanted to play"), where he got his moves ("I have no idea; sometimes I surprise myself") and whether the Hokies could beat Florida State ("Why not?"). A month earlier, Vick was just a good, young player on a rising team. Now he was a rock star -- and he wasn't enjoying it. Plus, he was tired out from the postseason banquet circuit. I relate this long story as a measure of Vick's character because next Saturday the San Diego Chargers will have the chance to take Vick with the first overall pick in the NFL draft. Barring a blockbuster trade, it appears that the Chargers will take Vick, despite the fact that he's played less than two full seasons of college football and has thrown only 313 passes. Let me digress for a minute: I think Vick is the most gifted athlete I have ever seen on a college football field. ( Herschel Walker would be second, Johnny Rodgers third, Charles Woodson fourth, just for the sake of argument). He has a suddenness of movement and a creativity that smack of evolution. He takes football and advances it. The old saw about quick-footed college quarterbacks being unable to make NFL defenders miss? Forget it. They'll often miss Vick. He's got a terrifically strong arm and a Joe Namath -quick release. Maybe he's accurate enough, maybe not, but I'm betting he can learn. This is all good news. The bad news is that this 20-year-old kid is about to have the weight of the world -- or at least of one whole NFL franchise -- heaped on his shoulders. I don't think he's going to like that feeling any more than he liked being interviewed to death in 1999 or asked repeatedly about his sore ankle last fall, when he limped through most of the season. He needs time to grow up and learn, and even if the Chargers go with Doug Flutie for a while, they aren't going to wait long. In the past Vick has often been sheltered, by his hyper-protective high school coach, Tommy Reamon, and by the Virginia Tech family. Vick isn't surly and immature, like Ryan Leaf. Not even close. But he's also not Peyton Manning, who came into the league with the maturity of a 30-year-old. Vick is impatient and private and sensitive, and would be best served by a veteran team that could nurture him slowly. He's going to have to grow three years in a week to make this work. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden covers college football for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.
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