During his 13 season playing career, Michael Vick established himself as one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL, earning four Pro Bowl selections. Yet Vick will forever be remembered for his involvement in an illegal dogfighting scandal. In 2007, Vick plead guilty to charges and spent a total of 21 months locked up in federal prison.

Michael Vick isn’t the only member of his family to have an NFL career — or into legal trouble. His younger brother Marcus had a brief tenure with the Miami Dolphins. He’s also run into trouble with the law on several occasions. Here we recap Marcus Vick’s stalled football career and his various struggles staying on the right side of the law.

Marcus Vick’s college football career

RELATED: Michael Vick’s Best Season in the NFL Wasn’t With the Falcons

Marcus Vick established himself as a talented quarterback prospect while attending high school in Newport News, Virginia. He was good enough to earn himself an athletic scholarship to Virginia Tech — the same school that his older brother Michael had played quarterback for. Vick was redshirted during his freshman year in 2002, and showed flashes of promise during the following season.

By most accounts, Vick was primed for a breakout season in 2004. Instead, he was suspended for the entire year due to a variety of criminal convictions brought against him. The main case involved Vicks’ consensual sexual involvement of an underaged girl. Although he was ultimately cleared of sex charges, Vick received three guilty verdicts for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Later that year, Vick was also charged with possession of marijuana and reckless driving. He was reinstated the following year, and his strong play quickly moved him up from third-string to starting quarterback. Yet further legal troubles and on-field incidents finally led Virginia Tech to dismiss Vick from the football program in January 2006.

Marcus Vick’s brief NFL career

The day after his dismissal from Virginia Tech, Vick declared himself eligible for the 2006 NFL Draft. Although many analysts speculated that he could get picked as early as the third round, Vick ended up going undrafted. His various legal issues — and his questionable character and work ethic — likely played a large role, since he remained an intriguing talent.

Following the draft, Vick went to a Dolphins free agent minicamp, and was ultimately signed by the team to a league minimum free-agent contract. He spent one year with the team, only seeing game action on a single occasion. In that game, Vick came in as a wide receiver in the 4th quarter, but did not receive any passes. At the end of the season, the Dolphins chose not to resign him.

Continuing legal troubles

RELATED: Was the NFL Too Quick to Forgive Michael Vick?

Marcus Vick continued to find himself getting into legal and criminal trouble following his brief stint in the NFL. On one occasion, a drunken Vick was arrested on charges of DUI, fleeing the police, and reckless driving.

Although he received a 12-month jail sentence, a judge reduced it to a fine and a suspension of his license. Various parole violations and related fines followed.

In 2016, Vick was arrested on charges that included felony assault on a police officer, according to The Roanoke Times. At the time, the officer was attempting to serve Vick an arrest warrant for evading a 2013 civil court hearing.

Later in 2016, Vick was arrested again — this time on charges of drug possession, according to Bleacher Report. Vick once again was able to negotiate a plea deal that spared him any jail time.

Another drug arrest — and suspended sentence — followed in March 2017. Since then, Vick has managed to stay out of legal trouble. In July 2020, his period of supervised probation is set to end. Hopefully, Vick can celebrate that milestone by setting himself on a less troubled path through life. 

STILLWATER — A former Oklahoma State walk-on men’s basketball player is facing a felony charge after allegedly breaking into and vandalizing the on-campus apartment of a current player.

According to court documents obtained by The Oklahoman, Luke Major was charged Dec. 6 with second-degree burglary. He was released on $5,000 bond and is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday. If convicted, he faces two to seven years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

On Oct. 21, Major allegedly entered, stole items and vandalized the apartment of freshman guard Marcus Watson, who remains suspended from team activities due to a protective order requested by a female OSU student for alleged rape. The Payne County District Attorney’s office has declined to file criminal charges against Watson.

Major, 20, intended to “confront” Watson after the alleged incident two days earlier, according to the police affidavit. Major is a close friend and ex-boyfriend of the female student who filed for the protective order against Watson.

Inside Watson’s apartment, the word “RAPIST” was written using red-colored glass chalk paint on Watson’s bedroom door and patio door. “MARCUS IS A RAPIST” was written in the same chalk on a glass-covered bulletin board near the apartment. “YOUR [sic] A RAPIST” was also written on the front of the apartment.

Items were also missing from Watson’s apartment and his TV screen was damaged.

According to the affidavit, police identified Major as a suspect after a device associated with him was active on the WiFi of the building in which Watson lived. Major was the only person identified on the WiFi network who did not live in that building.

When police interviewed Major, he was informed the university was attempting to recoup money for the costs of cleaning the vandalism. Police then asked Major if he was in the area that night. He said no, but later admitted he went with his brother, Joshua, and his brother’s friend to confront Watson because Major was “eaten” up about the situation.

Mississippi State officially hosted six prospective Bulldog football players over the course of Super Bulldog Weekend. One of that half dozen standouts was Greenwood High School (MS) product Kwatrivous Johnson. Johnson made the short drive east on Highway 82 along with his grandmother and younger brother. It appears that the trio enjoyed their time in Johnson’s future college home.

“I had a great visit. I enjoyed everything about it,” Johnson said. “I got to see some things I had never seen before and we got to eat real good. One of the best things about it was being able to see the Spring game and then have a chance to go out with my host and hang out with all of the other players.”

The Bulldog player charged with answering Johnson’s questions and showing him the lay of the land was offensive tackle, Greg Eiland. To hear Johnson tell it, the pair had a memorable weekend together.

“Greg was my host. He’s from Philadelphia (MS),” Johnson shared. “He’s a great guy and I had a lot of fun with him. He took me around and introduced me to everybody. I got to meet a lot of people. We went to a party and had a good time there. He told me about all of the things they do up there and about the workouts and all of that. It made me real excited about getting back up there.”

Some of the insight the Johnson felt was most valuable involved Mississippi State offensive line coach, Marcus Johnson. Over the course of the weekend, Johnson was able to get an insiders’ look at how the new Bulldog O line boss is on and off of the field.

“The big thing is that all of his players like him,” Johnson said. “They were all telling me what a great coach he was and what a great man he is. They said that he really pushes you to be better and that he’s a great teacher. They all like him and they said that he really cares about you as a person and not just as a player.”

Before making the trip home, Johnson had the opportunity to get some face time with Top Dawg, Coach Joe Moorhead. Johnson shares that the parting message from the first year head coach was one of encouragement.

“Coach Moorhead was telling me to stay in shape and to keep working hard in school,” Johnson said. “He said that they are excited about me coming back up there and that he wants me to come in ready to work. He said that they are ready to get me up there and ready to get started.”

Senior years are filled with important dates that mark memorable milestones. In addition to prom, senior skip day and other high school related activities, Johnson has another important appointment to keep. The talented offensive lineman is working back from a broken bone that has him sporting a cast these days.

“I am going to get the cast off of my wrist on May 14th,” Johnson said. “I am ready to get this thing off. It won’t be long after that when I start school at Mississippi State. I graduate on May 25th and then I start school on May 31st. It is not much longer now.”

Johnson was rated a four star offensive tackle in the 2018 recruiting rankings by 247Sports and widely considered the top offensive line prospect in his home state of Mississippi throughout his senior season. The native of the Mississippi Delta was also selected to participate in the Under Armour All-American game at the conclusion of his senior season.

(What’s happening with the Mississippi State Bulldogs? Make sure you are in the loop — take five seconds to Sign up for our FREE Bulldogs newsletters now!)