True Catalyst Enabling Michael Vick to Make 130 College Football History Confesses Coach Prime’s Influence

Michael Vick had his redemption season in 2010, after winning the Comeback Player of the Year award in the NFL. The feat was monumental not just because he threw for 3,018 yards, but also because his career had gone downhill after the infamous dog-fighting scandal. After spending 21 months in prison, Vick ultimately found his rhythm and played for the Eagles till 2014, where he not only became their legend but also found his friend, who is now enabling him to achieve new heights with Norfolk State.

“I feel like Michael Vick and I had the best connection. And with Michael Vick, I idolized him growing up, and to have an opportunity to play with him? I grew up to him to be my childhood hero, man.” Said DeSean Jackson, who played alongside Vicks at the Eagles from 2009 to 2013. Their friendship over those years bloomed, and now Jackson has retired from the NFL and become Delaware State’s head coach. And in a full circle moment, Vick has joined the college football coaching ranks too, taking over as HC at Norfolk State.

DeSean Jackson appeared on the June 13th episode of the ‘Nightcap’ podcast with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson and discussed his Delaware State job. The discussion gravitated towards Delaware State’s game against Vick’s Norfolk State on 30th October and how the game could be one of the biggest games between the two HBCUs. But according to Jackson, the game has more significance than one can speculate, since it was going to be at Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field.

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“We play at the Linc,” remarked Jackson. ” I got that done, Coach Jack got that done,” he added proudly. The hosts were visibly awestruck by Jackson’s pull, but that was just the start, since that game would mark a milestone in history, as Jackson said. “First time ever, the HBCU is playing in an NFL stadium in the regular season. Now, the bowl game we play in Atlanta stadium, but first time in a regular season game is being played in an NFL stadium.”

Both Michael Vick’s Norfolk State and Jackson’s Delaware State are top HBCU programs in the country, and thus, the fixture will be a thriller. But now that we know that it’s the first time in CFB history that the game is organized at a place like Lincoln Field? It will surely raise the stakes much higher. However, the Norfolk-Delaware showdown isn’t the only HBCU game making NFL stadium headlines this season. Kentucky State and Central State will meet at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions.

Meanwhile, the Orange Blossom Classic on August 30 will feature Howard University vs Florida A&M at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins. Even the HBCU New York Classic on September 13th will be played at the New York Jets’ home stadium. The year is undoubtedly a defining year for HBCUs all around the country, as they will take a significant step in CFB’s more than a century-old history. DeSean Jackson’s transition to coaching is already drawing comparisons to another NFL icon turned HBCU coach, Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime.

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Coach Prime teaches coaching moves to Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson’s 2025 season will be his first-ever head coaching job in college football. Still, the Super Bowl LVI winner will have experience since he is coming after a one-year stint as OC at Woodrow Wilson High School. That said, making 3 times Pro Bowls in the NFL and heading a program are two very different things, and that’s why the 2025 season will be a mounting challenge for him. But if you ask Jackson, he is learning his craft from none other than Coach Prime, and it might bear fruit.

“I don’t have to sit in a full meeting. I don’t have to go through installs. I just got to be a leader of men, and at the end of the day, I’mma make sure my coaches do that. That’s why I surrounded myself, and that’s why I respect Prime so much. Because I feel like he’s more to me, he’s more of a leader of men, and you know his intelligence is smart, but he put people around him for him to have success, and I just followed the blueprint that Big Bro put down.”

Learning from Coach Prime’s exploits is one of the best things one can do when transitioning from the NFL to a college football coaching career. Coach Prime wasn’t just going to coach the kids at Jackson State; instead, he was acting as a leader and surrounding himself with people who could be that, too. For instance, he hired experienced assistants like Dennis Thurman and Gary Harell, who compensated for his lack of coaching experience. Then he went to hire NFL veterans like Clinton Portis and Samie Parker to give him a support group in different positions. The verdict?

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Coach Prime knew where he needed to work and what shortcomings he would face. The head coach addressed that and led Jackson State to consecutive 11+ win seasons. So, the strategy that Deion Sanders followed not only will help DeSean Jackson, but also help other coaches like Michael Vick to excel in their first-time coaching jobs.

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