BALTIMORE, MD (WTKR)- Of the six designated team tables at MEAC Football Media Day, two were far and away the most crowded.
Norfolk State head coach Michael Vick and his former teammate, Delaware State head coach Desean Jackson, were the most popular individuals at the annual event, which was moved to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore this year.
Vick and Jackson are both entering their first seasons as head college football coaches, after playing together with the Eagles from 2009-2013.
The head Spartan represented the green and gold with wide receiver DreSean Kendrick and defensive back Kahleef Jimmison. Vick has seen his fair share of media days, but this was his first one sitting in the head coach's seat.
"For them to be here and represent Norfolk State means a lot," he said of his two players. "It's a first for them, a first for me and I'm very comfortable sitting here with these two."
Vick, along with Jackson, is helping to elevate the profile of the league. While MEAC officials couldn't say for sure that this was the most attended football media day the conference has had, they could confidently note that the league had never had a spotlight shined on it like this before. That was evident Tuesday morning, as more cameras filed into the venue than in years past, coaches and athletes were asked more questions and the MEAC got some more visibility.
"We know that all the attention everybody wants," noted Kendrick, whose father played college football with Vick at Virginia Tech. "Everybody wants their games to be packed, everybody wants the media there, so we've just tog to make sure we're right so that we can win some games and have some fun doing it."
"That's what this world is all about," Vick added. "It's all about creating opportunities, seizing the moment, seizing the opportunities and of course taking this job I wanted to put them on the biggest stages possible."
The bigger spotlight is one the Spartans themselves have been handling since Vick's arrival on campus. While their head coach's presence may have taken some getting used to, given his football heroics, it's been business as usual for quite awhile on campus.
"Now it's to a point where Coach is just Coach," pointed out Vick. "They don't look at me as.. maybe the first couple weeks. That's natural. It's an honor, it's a privilege for me to be in their presence and they always let me know that it's an honor for them to be in my presence."
"I always tell people Coach is one of the most regular celebrities you'll ever meet," Kendrick smiled. "Him being like that, it made it easy to really just blend in and we became a family so we're ready to get to work."
The time to showcase that work is fast approaching. Norfolk State kicks off its season August 28 under the primetime lights against Towson. There's excitement for week one, but also a realization that there is still plenty of work to do before that day comes.
"We're going to make teams have to earn everything," said Jimmison. "As the journey goes on, if we keep the main thing the main thing, we're going to be just fine."
"[August 28] is right around the corner, but in the meantime, we're going to make sure we do everything in our power to equip them to make sure that they're ready to go," the head coach added.
Vick and the Spartans were picked to finish fourth in the MEAC Preseason Poll. South Carolina State will enter the season as the favorites. As for the team occupying the cellar in the predictions, that belongs to Jackson's Hornets, but he's not paying much attention to the noise surrounding the poll.
Jackson and Vick were teammates with the Eagles for five years and became quite the dynamic duo in Philadelphia. Playing in 51 games together, the two connected 220 times, 24 for touchdowns, and more than 4,000 yards. Now they find themselves on opposite sidelines as conference rivals.
"We played together," Jackson said Tuesday. "I feel like in my career he's one of the best quarterbacks I ever played with, so our relationship we have, regardless of us going at it, Norfolk State and Delaware State, that's still my brother."
"For us to be on this stage right now, for us to have this opportunity, definitely, you've got to take it serious, got to be committed and that's what we've talked about," added Vick.
The match-up between the Spartans and Hornets this season is getting a little extra attention. The two squads will kick off October 30 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where their head coaches used to call home.
"It's really cool," Vicks said. "For Desean, I'll be rooting for him each and every week— except that one week."
"It's going to be heated, but at the same time, it's good friendly competition," noted Jackson. "I'm praying for his success just as much as he's praying for my success."
