Editor’s note: The article below is a republished story from The Daily Orange’s preview of Syracuse-Virginia Tech, highlighting Michael Vick’s return to Syracuse on Oct. 21, 2000.

Right now, in the college town of Blacksburg, Va., there resides a quarterback among the city’s 39,050 residents who should remind Syracuse football fans of Donovan McNabb.

Like McNabb, he’s athletic enough to warrant consideration from a sport he doesn’t specialize in.

Like McNabb, he’s at his best when improvising on college football’s stage, truly a man among some very big boys.

And like McNabb, Virginia Tech’s all-everything quarterback, Michael Vick, was drawn to Syracuse in the recruiting process.

But Vick doesn’t like comparisons. He doesn’t like cold weather, either. He doesn’t like being far away from his mom, who lives in Newport News, Va.

He never wanted to be the next Donovan McNabb.

So while Syracuse struggles to find a replacement for its best quarterback ever, the would-be heir to the Salt City throne is wearing Orange — mixed with maroon — while taking snaps for the No. 2 Hokies.

“I was real close to coming to Syracuse, but in the end it came to me wanting to be my own person,” said Vick, who will visit the Carrier Dome on Saturday for a 7 p.m. tilt.

“I wanted to be the first Michael Vick.”

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer has a new affection for the white, flaky substance that piles high on Central New York roads after watching Vick take the Hokies to the national championship game last season, where they lost, 46-29, to Florida State.

“Whatever words you want to put int here, they wouldn’t be strong enough,” Beamer said. explaining his happiness with Vick’s decision. “With us, you’ve got the best player in the country and you put that with a good football team. I can tell you for sure, I’m glad Michael Vick’s on our side.”

And Beamer’s not stretching. Most analysts agree Vick is the best player in college football. They only disagree if that sentence should end in “ever.”

Last season, Vick finished No. 1 in the nation in passing efficiency, at a 180.4 clip. He accounted for 2,425 yards of total offense and averaged 9.3 yards per play, breaking a VT record.

Despite modest statistics by his standards this season, Vick led Virginia Tech to a 6-0 record and completed 55 for 107 passes. He’s rushed for 541 yards and scored seven rushing touchdowns while passing for another seven. He remains the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

Most important, and Big East coaches agree on this one, Vick is the focal point for opposing defenses, and he presents a problem no coach can answer or stop.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t have a clue,” West Virginia head coach Don Nehlen said. “If I knew that, I would write a book and make a lot of money selling it. I don’t know if there is anything you can do. You just hope it doesn’t happen too often.”

“They have the best player in the country touching the ball 60 to 70 times a game. That’s scary.”

“He’s the best football playerI’ve seen in 22 years in football,” Temple head coach Bobby Wallace said.

Like a broken record, the list goes on.

“Looking at him, I think he’s the best I’ve ever seen,” Boston College head coach Tom O’Brien said. Syracuse probably wished the best player O’Brien has ever seen was on the field last Saturday, when Troy Nunes threw four interceptions in a 20-13 loss.

The same holds true for last season when Vick threw for a mere 135 yards and a touchdown and the Hokies stuck bamboozled Syracuse, 62-0, in Blacksburg.

Then there’s the matter if Saturday, when Vick leads the Hokies into battle against a reeling 3-3 Syracuse squad.

“I don’t know what to do against him,” Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. “The offense has to play well and keep him off the field. We have to make him drive 80 yards every time he’s on the field.

“Out of all the guys we recruited, we thought he was the best one.”

And Syracuse was close to getting the best one. While Vick wanted no part in becoming the next McNabb, the two formed a bond during Vick’s visit to the Hill.

“Donovan was a great host,” Vick said. “Donovan’s a great player, and I think hat we’re very similar in the way we play the game. I still keep up with him, and whenever the Eagles are on, I’ll watch them. I just hope to be as successful as him one day.”

He’s well on his way, garnering enough attention to warrant his own Web site, sports information director and fan club. These days, Vick gets more attention than Madonna.

The comparisons to McNabb — elusive, improvisational and able to make something out of nothing — are inevitable. For both, breaking ankles is as commonplace as putting on a  helmet.

“It just comes naturally,” Vick said, sounding eerily like McNabb. “Half the time, I don’t even know what I’m doing. I just go out each play, and if it breaks down, I do my own thing. I’m a playmaker and my job is to make things happen.”

Syracuse defensive end Dwight Freeney knows about what Vick calls “things.” He saw Vick’s Hokies in Virginia last year and he saw McNabb during practice. The Orangemen won’t prepare any different for the All-American, he said.

“Like anybody else, he’s talented and fast,” Freeney said. “My freshman year, I played against Donovan McNabb everyday in practice. It’s not a big difference. Michael Vick is faster, but the quickness is the same.

“We go against McNabb all day, and don’t hear ‘How are you going to prepare for Don in practice.’ And when Michael Vick comes, it’s Michael is this, that and the other. It’s not really a big thing.”

Syracuse should hope so. Vick loves to fish and, on Saturday, the Orangemen are the catch. And Vick has extra motivation — the Hokies have not beaten Syracuse in the Dome since 1986.

Vick is a quiet person, especially if he doesn’t know someone. This weekend, he will play loud, as he knows the Orangemen all too well.

It remains to be seen, however, if a player many compare to McNabb can pull the same feat — a last-second touchdown pass — in a Virginia Tech-Syracuse football game, Carrier Dome rocking. With VT being a heavy favorite, Vick may never get the chance.

“The Dome is a very loud place to play and is very touch for the opponents,” Vick said. “I’m looking forward to it. I love challenges and this is definitely one. We need this game, just like every other one. It will definitely be a challenge, but one I’m looking forward to.”

Published on September 24, 2015 at 9:33 pm