The comparisons came quickly.
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson started his 2016 campaign, carving up Charlotte for eight touchdowns, six passing and two rushing. When, he followed up that performance by accounting for five touchdowns, four on the ground and one through the air, in the Cardinals' ACC opener on the road against Syracuse, it was hard not, at least, begin wondering.
Is Jackson the next Michael Vick? Well, Vick himself, thinks he might be even better after the 10th-ranked Cardinals' 63-20 win upset of No. 2 Florida State Saturday.
LOUISVILLE 63, FSU 20: 5 things we learned
Jackson had yet to be to be tested against a truly formidable foe, a traditional power, a national championship contender whose roster is chock full of four and five-star recruits just like him. Surely, he wouldn't put up video game numbers against Jimbo Fisher's second-ranked Seminoles.
Well, he did just that, rushing four 146 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries while completing 13 of 20 passes for 216 yards and another score to hand FSU a 63-20 loss, its worst defeat in four decades.
After the game, Vick took to Twitter, convinced Jackson is already exponentially more advanced than he was at the college level.
Lamar Jackson 5x better than what I was at V-Tech....Enough said!! #future
— Mike Vick (@MikeVick) September 17, 2016
The praise can't get much higher than that.
If you dont remember how outright ridiculous Vick was back in the day, educate yourself.
Vick went 15 of 29 for 225 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 97 yards and score in a 46-29 loss in the national championship game in the 2000 Sugar Bowl. It was the only time he faced the Seminoles in college.