'''Michael Dwayne Vick''' (born June 26, 1980 in Newport News, Virginia), is an African American American football quarterback for the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons. He is the older brother of former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick and second cousin of Oakland Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks.

High school and collegiate career

While in grade school, Vick showed promise in baseball and basketball. But by junior high his adolescent ways got the best of him, and he became a disciplinary problem for his teachers. His mother pushed him to get involved with an after-school activity. He chose football, and gave up all other sports in the ninth grade.

Michael Vick first came to prominence while at Ferguson High School in Newport News, VA. As a freshman he began opening eyes with his athletic ability and throwing for over 400 yards in a game that year. Later on as a junior, Vick and Coach Tommy Reamon both moved to Warwick High School, also in Newport News, in 1996 after Ferguson was shut down.

Michael Vick was somewhat overshadowed locally by quarterback Ronald Curry of Hampton High School in Hampton, Virginia, who would earn Gatorade National Football Player of the Year honors and make first team Parade All-American in basketball; in Curry's shadow, Vick never even made first-team all-district. Curry received a scholarship to the University of North Carolina, but suffered injury problems and eventually was drafted by the NFL's Oakland Raiders as a wide receiver.

After high school, Michael Vick attended Virginia Tech. He exploded onto the scene in his first collegiate game as a redshirt freshman in 1999 with three rushing TDs, in just over one quarter of play. His last touchdown was a spectacular flip in which he landed awkwardly on his ankle, forcing him to miss the remainder of the game in addition to the following game. He led the Virginia Tech Hokies to an 11-0 season and to the 2000 Bowl Championship Series national title game in the Nokia Sugar Bowl against Florida State University. Although Virginia Tech lost, 46-29, Vick was able to bring the team back from a 21 point deficit to take a brief lead.

Vick led the NCAA in passing efficiency that year, setting a record for a freshman (180.4), which was also good enough for the second-highest all-time mark to Shaun King's record from the 1998 season at Tulane. Vick was awarded an ESPY Award as the nation's top college player, and won the first-ever Archie Griffin Award as college football's most valuable player. He was invited to the 1999 Heisman Trophy presentation and finished third in the voting, behind Ron Dayne

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