BALTIMORE — The 2025 MEAC Football Media Day at M&T Bank Stadium highlighted two former NFL superstars who are now rookie head coaches in the conference. Michael Vick will lead Norfolk State in his first year, while former Baltimore Raven DeSean Jackson takes over at Delaware State.
These high-profile hires are bringing significant attention to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
Watch as Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson describe the landscape of the MEAC
"It's our job to continue to be competitive and make the MEAC conference competitive. I feel like the conference is growing, but certainly the coaches that's in this conference, I think makes the conference. So, I'm excited to be a part of that," Vick said.
Jackson acknowledged the skepticism about his hiring but emphasized the impact he believes he can make.
"A lot of people, you know, when I first got the position was like, 'man, why would you hire DeSean Jackson?' He doesn't have experience at this level, but I think just my influence, being able to walk into a room full of young men that they're hungry, you could see the desire for them to wanna win," Jackson said.
Morgan State head coach Damon Wilson welcomes the increased attention, saying it benefits his student-athletes.
"I'm excited about what we have in Morgan State, what we have going on, and these student athletes deserve the recognition and the attention they're getting now. So it's all about student athletes for me," Wilson said.
Morgan State linebacker Erick Hunter appreciates the spotlight but remains focused on competition.
"It's great to have the eyes, that they bring attention on to the conference. It is a great thing to have them. It's very cool actually, but you know, at the end of the day, there's 6 teams, 6 coaches, there's 6 teams of players, and we gotta come out on top," Hunter said.
After finishing 6-6 last season, the Bears believe they're close to winning the conference championship. Their focus is on finishing games strong.
"Making sure that we finish in the 4th quarter. We actually started that foundation starting in winter workouts, so that's something that we wanna continue to preach and make sure we continue those situational football," Hunter said.
The Bears are also looking forward to facing local rival Towson, hoping to end a lengthy losing streak against them that has reportedly lasted 15 or 16 years.
Morgan State's regular season begins in 39 days against South Alabama. Coach Wilson indicated the quarterback position is strong, and he plans to name a starter by the second week of training camp.
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