We have (or may have a serious problem). It appears that Vick may have found his equal (or superior). And here's a big hint: he ain't donning the faithful maroon and orange. It can be read in this article here: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/09/michael-vick-louisville-qb-lamar-jackson....
If this is, in fact, true, it begs the question to just how we are losing recruits to the likes of Louisville? I know we've had kind of a rough few years in the recruiting department. But how hasn't Bama, Fsu, etc nabbed this guy? Also, are there any teams in the Atlantic division that can defeat Louisville? Is it ALL Jackson? If we were scheduled, how would we go about shutting them down?
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They tried, but they all told him that he'd play WR or CB for them, and as a 3* recruit, they didn't feel like he had the clout to object. Only UofL told him he'd be a QB.
Sometimes, the elites just fall through the cracks. That being said, I don't buy that he's better than Vick was at VT in 1999. I get that the talking heads always are quick to proclaim what's now as being the best we've ever seen (and some at VT were even guilty of this during the Tyrod years, saying he was better than Vick) but Vick was just on a whole other level. Vick is just being extremely humble and giving the kid props, which is completely fine, but he's still the greatest college football player I've ever see play the game.
But whom else has Vick specifically stated was "5x better than [he] was at Tech"?? The only other person I remember was his alter ego cough*Marcus*cough.
Jackson has had some very Vick-esque moments already. At this point you probably can't say he's better than Vick based on their bodies of work, but he has shown that ridiculous quickness and elusiveness that Vick had, and also has the top end breakaway speed.
The first time I saw the kid run, I immediately had flashbacks of Vick in terms of ability to make guys miss. He might not have quite the arm, but from a running perspective he seems to be close to the level that Vick was.
Just watch him run near the goal line and in the open field, and I think it becomes obvious how comparable the two might really be.
Here's the thing, though, and the thing that people don't really talk about with Vick. He was an utterly elite passer at VT, where he set the highest all time passer efficiency rating for a freshman in 1999 and the 3rd highest rating of all time. His elusiveness on the ground is what got him all the hype and the recognition, but it was his ability to air the ball during an era where passing was nowhere near as important as it is today, that really separated him from everyone else. To put things in perspective, even with the great season Jackson is currently having, he's ranked only 8th in passing efficiency this year. (interestingly enough, our own Jerod Evans is ranked 11th)
Vick had an elite deep ball and had one of the best deep threats in the country to throw to. He was not an elite passer. He just fit the play action system perfectly that most teams from that era ran.
Vick completed 58% of his passes in 99 which was not even in the top 30 that year. But he led the country in yards per attempt (11.3) because of his ability on the deep ball and who he was throwing to.
Jackson is currently completing 61% of his passes and averages 11.1 yards per attempt. That's pretty comparable to what Vick was doing in 99.
Now in today's spread offenses the ball is thrown around a lot more, so Jackson is naturally going to have more attempt and more yards, but at the heart of it, his numbers are very much Vick like at this point in the year.
Sad we'll never be able to really put it to the test.
I think in Fu/Corn's scheme, he'd light things up in a way unheard of.
One of his things that was just jaw dropping were his deep outs from the opposite hash. Ball got there on a dime, fast enough for a turn upfield.
So many times, that deep out is simply a catch and run/get pushed out of bounds, just because the ball takes a while to go 40 yards or so of actual green.
The other thing MV7 had that was simply preternatural was his ability to feel and react to pressure. Watching him duck pressure from the blindside, spin into green and then either break ankles or uncork a 50 yarder with a flick of his wrist has been unmatched so far.
Jackson is the real deal. Louisville got a steal. He's the closest thing I've seen to MV7 since MV7. But I don't know if he has the extra "it" factor that Vick had.
I miss MV7.....
But he doesn't have Vicks speed. He's fast but Vick could outrun angles from elite DBs...Mike had track speed...4.2-4.3....LJ runs in the 4.5 range......
Check the FSU video at 1:10 and tell me he doesn't have breakaway speed. Or the 1:10 clip in the Syracuse video has another great example.
What a geographical oddity, 1:10 minutes from everywhere
I don't want Lamar Jackson, goddammit. I'm a Michael Vick man.
Watch your language, young feller, this is a public thread. Now if you want Michael Vick, I can order him for you, have it about 16 years ago.
Ok... I'm with you fellas.
Damn, tight spot
My thing with LJ is the fearless-ness with which he runs. Great, possibly best ever, college quarterback. Not even average NFL quarterback when the time comes. His build is too slight to take the beating, and the fearlessness he runs with will get him hurt against a big, fast, and mean NFL D.
Yeah at 6'3" 195 he isn't going to be able to take a beating. But he still has a year or two to get a few more pounds on that frame. He'll never be 265 but if he gets to 225 he'll be in good form. As long as he learns to slide!
I'm interested to see how he holds up against some of the better ACC defenses.
And no, I'm not convinced thus far that FSU has one of the better defenses in the conference this year.
With all respect to Mr Jackson, Vick was so good he broke Madden...
The kid is good but it's not even close. Can you imagine a 19/20 MV7 running a read/option or spread offense. It would be totally unfair on the collegiate level. It was almost unfair at 30 in Philly but his leg couldn't hold up anymore......Mike put up his numbers in a more traditional offense. LJ is much more comparable to a college RG3....
Yeah but you could also argue that today's defenses are much adept at stopping spread offenses than those from the 99/00 era were. It goes both ways. Defenses from that era were generally much larger and load the box type defenses, not fast athletes in space.
He made UM and FSU athletes look the same way.....not the same level athlete....no disrespect intended....
FSU All American LB blew his ACL trying to match a MV7 cutback in the Sugar Bowl.... It wasn't just slow plodding DLinemen that he made miss........
I do think Lamar Jackson will end up having a better college career than Vick. He's certainly the best player in the Heisman race, and damn is he fun to watch. But Vick also had a goddamned cannon, which is really what enabled him to shine at the pro level too. I haven't seen that out of Jackson so far, but I eagerly await seeing this kid keep lighting it up.
Followups: no, no one in the Atlantic can touch Louisville. Jackson is using cheat codes, and that defense is no joke. If we played Louisville, we'd need 8 in the box, with Mook as a spy, and the dbs going zero coverage basically the entire game. And we'd still need to score 40+ points on offense.
Challenge accepted...
This sub has the potential to be a great, and printed / taped to one of three walls...Jackson, Foster, or Evans. I'm saving it in unrealistic hope that it one day is resolved.
Lamar Jackson isn't a freshman, either. Mike's got that on him.
LJ is good, but he reminds me more of Vince Young than Mike Vick, who was an excellent athlete himself. I thought VY was unstoppable when he played.NVM - he's soooo Michael Vick. Good for him. Too bad he plays for douche bag petrino.
Vick is right. You can bank on Lamar Jackson so surely that his face is on currency. He's more elusive than Vince Young but sturdier than Michael Vick. He's Cam Newton with a slither. Lamar Jackson, by a slim margin over Jabrill Peppers, is the best college football player today. Respect
As for the Vick comparisons, Jackson can sling the rock and so could Vick. His speed is less than Vick but greater than Vince Young or Cam Newton, opposite for size/run-over-ability.
I'll leave you with this:
ooooohhhh, now I get it.
These questions come to mind:
Does he play all four years of eligibility? When does he punch for the NFL? Will Virginia Tech ever get a chance to face him in an ACC Championship?
Can we lose the "how did we not get this kid" argument? I get being pissed about losing guys in the state or whatever, but someone please remind me the last time Tech ever nabbed a kid from Boynton Beach, Florida. Kid is amazing and he just man handled the number 2 team in the land. And oh yeah by the way, the guy we have under center right now ain't half bad either.
I'm not sure how, with the plethora of recruiting services scouring the land for talent, he wasn't evaluated as a top recruit. I understand Vick slipping through, because there weren't any dual threat QBs before him, and recruiting wasn't a huge thing back then as much as it is now. I guess it's possible that his HS system didn't accentuate his strengths?
There's already been an article written on this
SB Nation
Thanks for the link. So basically, the recruiting services caught on too late partly because of the HS system didn't give them an indication on of he could be a QB in college. And the other part is that the recruiting services seem kind of lazy and bandwagon on recruiting rankings rather than do their own research.
Vick was on a different level of athleticism. His ability to change direction and hit top speed in a few steps was amazing. He had a cannon for an arm but lacked touch.
Jackson is fun to watch. He is deceptively fast and looks so smooth in his acceleration.
I think we still need to see how teams start game planning for him. Vick was a nightmare to game plan for. Just ask Bobby Bowden.
As someone who attended VT from 1998 to 2002 Vick will always be my favorite. Too many memorable moments.
This ^^^^^ for me too!
Talk about being spoiled silly!!! Going from watching Al Clark then MV7 the following year, all of us didn't know MV7 would lead us to the the NC. Out of my roomates and I, three of us got tickets. I was the only one who kept mine and went to the NC. What a memory at 20 years old! Priceless!!
Oh, had Shyrone Stith remained healthy that game and not out for the game during the 1st quarter, there might have been a different ending. Our run game sufferred with him out.
Wasn't our db (Miggett?) on injured hammies also. I remember watching Warwick run by our secondary thinking it would be different if they were at full speed.
Anthony Midget. And he actually picked off Weinke.
Wasn't our db (Miggett?) on injured hammies also. I remember watching Warwick run by our secondary thinking it would be different if they were at full speed.
why is this an issue? Vick is just praising an amazing player. There are kids all over the country we don't get for thousands of reasons, and mostly because we choose not to offer them. Others are not interested in VT. Others we offer to play a specific position when they want to play something else (cough Logan Thomas cough).
this guys is dynamic. 5x better or not is irrelevant. Earning praise from Vick and pretty much EVERYONE else is the point, because this guy is a baller straight up.
can we beat them? Sure. it's college football, any given Saturday. Beating OSU should teach that to anyone here.
Not to discount L. Jackson but he is no Vick...just watch those videos above he is more lanky and not as fast. Jackson definitely reminds me more of R Griffin or Teddy Bridgewater.
Teddy Bridgewater? Dude was a pocket passer.... Vince Young is probably the other comparison
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=17571859
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God I miss those unis...
As the SI cover indicated, MV7 Sparked the revolution at QB. MV7 is now the comparison bar for elite dual threat QBs.
So go ahead MV7 and ESPN, you're doing a great job of putting that VT logo out there for the nation to see every time the talking heads make the comparison!!!
I'm a Marshall student, and our football team plays Louisville Saturday. After watching them give up 65 points to Akron a couple days ago, I really think Jackson might shatter every single game record ever set by a quarterback.
Litton on his A game is no slouch, though.. I'm hoping for a crazy shootout in that one.
Litton hasn't been as accurate this season as he was last season thus far. He looked good against Morgan State, but he was overthrowing everyone against Akron. I'm hoping he is on Saturday. Louisville's defense is definitely bendable and Marshall typically has a pretty talented offense. If Marshall can hang with them blow for blow, it could stay close for longer than most are expecting.
I really wanted Marshall to step in for Tech after they left the Big East. On a completely side note: this peach flavored moonshine from Nelson Co is REALLY great!
Following your tangent, a small rant: wtf is up with the price of moonshine in liquor stores? Steep price for what personal history tells me is rotgut.
I'm not dropping 30 bucks when I can spend less on something I know is good.
They are trading on the novelty I guess. Cultivate the right friends, and save yourself the inflated cost.
I paid $25 for a quart (1 jar)
Nelson is becoming quite the mecca for alcohol production in central virginia. You can't stumble 5 feet without bumping into a vineyard, brewery, or distillery and that's not even counting all the private production going on up in the hollers.
Lamar Jackson is awesome, but watching them run shows how much better Vick was. Jackson doesn't look fluid on his cuts, they're kind of choppy and half the time he looks like he's about to fall over. Vick looked like he was on ice skates.