The Michael Vick era at Norfolk State kicked off under the bright lights of William “Dick” Price Stadium with 19,469 fans in attendance—the largest non-homecoming crowd since 2023. While the Spartans ultimately fell 27-7 to Towson in Vick’s coaching debut, the night marked a significant moment in the program’s history and gave fans a glimpse of the future under the former NFL star.
Here’s a brief look at the game and three takeaways from Vick’s first outing as a head coach.
Game Summary
Norfolk State’s offense struggled out of the gate, going scoreless through three quarters before finally finding the end zone in the fourth. Quarterback Jaylen Laudermilk capped a five-play, 43-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run, cutting the Towson lead to 13-7 early in the final quarter.
However, Towson responded with back-to-back touchdown passes from Andrew Indorf to Zay Perkins and John Dunmore, putting the game out of reach. The Tigers outgained the Spartans 323 to 279 in total yardage and held them to just 39 rushing yards on 31 attempts. Norfolk State had several promising drives but came up empty in three red-zone opportunities.
Despite the loss, the electric atmosphere and defensive grit offered silver linings.
1. Michael Vick Praises Defensive Effort Despite Loss
While the scoreboard showed 27 points allowed, Vick had high praise for his defense, particularly its ability to keep the game close into the fourth quarter.
“The defense played great. Defense did a lot of good things, and I’m very proud of them,” Vick said. “We were in the game with 10 minutes left… just needed a couple of plays to go our way”.
The Spartans forced a key fumble, logged three sacks, and broke up four passes. Vick also noted multiple missed interception chances that could have turned the game.
“We were banking on getting two turnovers this game. That was a moment for us, and we didn’t capitalize on it,” he added.
2. Offensive Struggles Start with the Run Game
NSU ran for just 39 net yards—a stat that Vick was quick to highlight postgame.
“You can’t rush for 39 yards and think you’re going to win a lot of football games. We got to control the line of scrimmage,” he said.
Quarterbacks Otto Kuhns and Israel Carter combined for 240 passing yards, with DreSean Kendrick and Kam’Ryn Thomas combining for 230 of those. But penalties and red-zone inefficiency killed drives. Vick acknowledged the play-calling needs to be more balanced and productive.
“We shot ourselves in the foot… every time we made a play, it was a penalty,” he said. “We’ve got to self-correct.”
3. Both Quarterbacks Will Play
Vick used both quarterbacks throughout the game, giving fans a taste of what may become a back-and-forth situation moving forward.
“We’ve got two good quarterbacks,” Vick said. “Israel will be back out there, but Otto came in and did some great things. We’ll keep evaluating”.
Kuhns threw for 219 yards, completing 19 of 27 passes, while Carter added 21 yards in limited action.
Michael Vick looks ahead
Despite the loss, Michael Vick remained optimistic and reflective.
“I got a feel for the flow, what to look for… now I know where we’ve got to get better,” he said. “We’ll be a lot better next week”.
The Spartans (0-1) return to Dick Price Stadium next week to face in-state rival Virginia State. With opening night nerves out of the way and film in hand, Vick and Norfolk State look to turn lessons learned into wins.