2002-2003
While Vick arrived at Tech with great fanfare, he did not in fact play as a true freshman. Beamer redshirted him, and he was a member of the dress squad for every game. During his freshman year, he ran a 4.48 forty and posted a 36-inch vertical jump during spring max testing. Vick threw five touchdown (TD) passes during spring scrimmages and added another in the Maroon-White game. He was 6-for-7 passing for 95 yards and one TD during one scrimmage, and turned in a 57-yard run in another scrimmage. He hit 10-of-15 passes for 92 yards and a TD in the Maroon-White game. Earned the Paul Torgersen Award for the top offensive newcomer.
In 2003, Vick played in eleven games, splitting time with Bryan Randall. The highlight of Vick's season came during a 31-7 upset win over #2 Miami. Despite completing only one pass, Vick's exceptional running ability and the outstanding play of Tech's defense contributed to one of the biggest wins in Tech's history. In Virginia Tech's loss in the Insight Bowl to the California Golden Bears, Vick racked up 82 receiving yards, including one touchdown reception. [3]
[edit] 2004: suspension for multiple unlawful incidents
Prior to the 2004 collegiate season, Vick was arrested and ultimately convicted for providing alcohol to three underage girls who "claimed" to be college students. In a subsequent incident, Vick was charged with reckless driving and possession of marijuana. He was suspended from the university for the fall semester of 2004. [4]
[edit] 2004: conditional reinstatement
Vick was reinstated to the school and the football team under specific guidelines that warranted immediate dismissal from the team for further transgressions.
[edit] 2005: strong playing, more incidents
Head coach Frank Beamer initially announced that Vick would enter the 2005 season as the team's third-string quarterback, but he quickly won the starting role after impressive spring practices and scrimmages. All in all, it was Vick's most successful season which saw the Hokies contending for a national championship and culminating in an impressive 11-2 record, an ACC Coastal Division title, an appearance in the inaugural ACC Championship Game in the 2005 season, and a win in the 2006 Gator Bowl.
The 2005 season, however, saw more controversy surrounding Vick. On October 1, 2005, Vick angered fans and press in Morgantown, West Virginia with a display of his middle finger to the crowd during the game at West Virginia University. Vick later apologized and made no further comments. He also was pushed into a West Virginia University assistant coach while coming back onto the playing field after being run out of bounds. This incident was caught on film and played on ESPN later.
During the 2006 Gator Bowl on January 2, 2006, Vick once again courted controversy when he violently stomped on the leg of University of Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil with his foot. Following the game Vick claimed the incident was accidental and asserted he apologized to Dumervil after the game. However, Dumervil and Louisville coaches all said that Vick didn't even talk to Dumervil after the game. Virginia Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver issued a statement from the university on the incident:
“ The unsportsmanlike conduct of quarterback Marcus Vick in yesterday's Gator Bowl game against Louisville is unacceptable behavior and contrary to the Hokies Respect Campaign. Such on-field action is not reflective of Virginia Tech football nor of the values we hold at Virginia Tech. I and my colleagues in central administration are embarrassed and this athletic administration will not condone such acts of unsportsmanlike conduct. We will review and assess this incident further and deal with it accordingly. ”
[edit] Additional traffic arrests
Vick had lost his privilege to drive a motor vehicle in Virginia as the result of multiple traffic convictions, including reckless driving. On December 17, 2005, he was charged in Hampton, Virginia with speeding, and for the second time, with the more serious misdemeanor charge of driving on a suspended or revoked license. [5],
[edit] Dismissal from Virginia Tech
In 24 career games at Virginia Tech, Vick threw for 2,868 yards, 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while also running 184 times for 492 yards and six touchdowns. However, during the same period, he was charged with nine traffic offenses, as well as convictions for possession of marijuana and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
On January 6, 2006, Virginia Tech announced his permanent dismissal from its football program "due to a cumulative effect of legal infractions and unsportsmanlike play."[6]
In response to being thrown off the team, Vick has been quoted as saying, "It's not a big deal. I'll just move on to the next level, baby."[7]
[edit] More non-driving legal troubles
With three days of expulsion from Virginia Tech, Marcus Vick became involved in another incident resulting in criminal charges, this time back home in Hampton Roads. The result in court was yet another misdemeanor conviction, but only suspended jail time. He also subsequently became the target of a civil lawsuit which had not been resolved as of June 8, 2007.
[edit] Criminal charges, conviction in Suffolk, Virginia
Marcus Vick's mugshot in Suffolk, VirginiaOn January 9, 2006, he was charged with three counts of brandishing a firearm, a Class One misdemeanor [8] [9], in Suffolk, Virginia. A police report stated that he allegedly pointed a gun at a 17-year-old and at least two of his friends in the parking lot of a McDonald's restaurant in the 6200 block of Town Point Road in Suffolk. It has been reported that Vick approached the group of teenagers after his girlfriend told him that someone from the group had made disparaging remarks towards her. [10] Vick claimed that the "gun" in question was actually a BlackBerry cell phone that was mistaken for a gun and that his accusers were trying to blackmail him. [11] Marcus Vick was convicted and received a six month suspended sentence for this incident. [12]
[edit] Civil lawsuit, fraud and sex with minor
On December 14, 2006, a 17-year old girl from Montgomery County, Virginia, filed a civil lawsuit against Marcus Vick accusing him of sexual battery upon a minor, fraud, and additional charges. In the lawsuit, seeking $6.3 million, an unnamed girl claims that when she was 15 (below the legal age of consent in Virginia) and was student in high school, she engaged in a sexual relationship with Vick, who was 20 years old, over a nearly two year long period. She also alleges Vick offered to provide her alcohol and marijuana and asked her to have sex with other men.[13] [14] It is not known whether any criminal charges were filed in connection with these alleged incidents.