Sports
Vick Leads Under Duress
< < Back toA leader stands strong in the face of adversity. A leader puts others before themselves. Derrius Vick is a leader.
The Bobcats value putting focus on the team as a whole over solo accomplishments. As a the captain of the Ohio football team Vick is setting an example by keeping his sights on the big picture.
“Sometimes you just have to not put yourself above the team,” Vick said. “No matter what the situation is, if I’m playing or not playing, I’m still a leader on this team, so that comes first.”
While Vick has started all three of the Bobcats’ games, he has split some of the gameday reps with backup quarterback J.D. Sprague.
Ohio football coach Frank Solich used Vick in a similar role as a backup to Tyler Tettleton last season; Vick never started but saw action in 11 games.
“We got two quarterbacks that will be very important to us as we go through the season,” Solich said.
Solich may play both quarterbacks in games all season, but Vick’s teammates recognize the leader in his character. Vick was elected by his peers to be a member of the team’s unity council.
“Each player on the unity council is a representative of their position group and their unit,” redshirt senior defensive back Nathan Carpenter said. “So they just got to be that voice for rest of the team.”
As a chief member of the 2014 unity council Vick created the motto for the Bobcats’ season: “B.O.O.M.”
“ ‘B.O.O.M’ (stands for) brothers on one mission,” Vick said. “Obviously we are one team, we have one goal … (to) focus on each game we have ahead of us and just worrying about one game at a time.”
Ohio is 1-2, having lost each of its last two contests against non-conference opponents Kentucky and Marshall.
Despite the two most recent results, the Bobcats are still 1-0 in the Mid-American conference. They play their first home game of the season Saturday night against Idaho. Ohio has won five games at home in each of the last four seasons.
“(If we are) playing the best we can and staying together, the rest will take care of itself.”
Team togetherness is the tone Vick strives to instill as a leader, and he wants the Bobcats to strive for solidarity as they try to make a sixth straight bowl appearance.
“I think it's a group of special guys in terms of their makeup, as far as unity goes, as well as their togetherness,” Solich said.