NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Michael Vick is hitting the road for the first time as a collegiate head coach, fresh off picking up his first career victory at the head of a program.
Following its 34-31 overtime win over Virginia State, Norfolk State heads into enemy territory, paying a visit to Rutgers this Saturday.
"We definitely want our guys to feel like they have a chance to win, compete hard, believe in themselves and trust the process," Vick said Tuesday. "Every game is going to be a challenge. We're not going to look at them any differently than we look at any other opponent."
Rutgers enters Saturday's showdown with a 2-0 record and is coming off a 45-17 victory over Miami (Ohio). The Scarlet Knights finished 7-6 in 2024, 4-5 in the Big Ten. Their home field, SHI Stadium, seats more than 52,000 fans, meaning it could be the biggest environment some of the current Spartans have played in to date. Vick is hoping they'll embrace the chance to take that stage.
"As the week goes on, we'll talk more and more about what this opportunity really means for them, a chance to showcase their talents and see how they measure up against a big-time FBS school," Vick noted. "We've just got to go out there and do the best we can, try to take it to them, challenge them like they're going to challenge us and just have a good day playing football, have fun."
Vick has his own history with Rutgers. It was October 9, 1999, when he led the Hokies into Piscataway and was one of the main architects in a 58-20 drubbing of the Scarlet Knights. It was his fifth college game and the current Norfolk State head coach lit up the box score, completing 11 of his 12 pass attempts for 248 yards and four touchdowns. He added another 68 yards, including a 22-yard score on the ground, as Virginia Tech opened up a 49-14 lead on Rutgers by halftime.
"I will say this: all hell broke loose," Vick smiled recalling that contest. "But I'm not the one with the ball in my hands anymore."
When the Spartans take the field, a new starting quarterback will be leading them. Vick confirmed Otto Kuhns will start for the green and gold Saturday, replacing Israel Carter as QB1. Kuhns has come off the bench and provided a spark for the NSU offense in each of the first two games of the season and led the squad to a comeback win against Virginia State, tallying two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and engineering a game-tying drive to force overtime.
"We'll give him a chance to go out there and be out there from start to finish, hopefully, barring his health, and just go out there and try to get a feel for the game," Vick noted. "Now it's an opportunity for Israel to learn vicariously and take every single rep seriously. Whether it's on the second team, whether it's on the scout team, every rep matters."
Vick also pointed out that he became the player he was by taking advantage of his scout team reps and taking that approach to live-game action.
Norfolk State and Rutgers kick off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
