Michael Vick takes center stage.(Daily Press)

Saturday is the day Newport News native Michael Vick has been dreaming about for as long as he can remember.

Today is the day an NFL team, probably the Atlanta Falcons with the first overall selection, drafts the former Warwick High and Virginia Tech quarterback and begins the process of making him one of the wealthier men in America.

Today is the day Vick goes from being a guy who, in just two seasons, turned a mid-level college football program into a national power and became regarded as the savior of a professional team.

"Knowing what's coming up," Vick said last week, "I probably won't sleep Friday night. If I do, I hope and pray I wake up because it will be the day that changes my life. I'm nervous and excited, nervous because I don't know what to expect and excited to be going to the league I have always dreamed about."

Today, Vick will officially begin the process of keeping the dream from turning into a nightmare, of proving wrong the critics who say he is too short (6 feet), too inexperienced (20 college games) and too much of a runner to succeed in the pass-happy world of the NFL.

He will also officially begin the process of proving right those who believe his uncanny running instincts, coupled with a powerful left arm, one day will transform him into the Michael Jordan of the NFL.

"His upside is unbelievable," San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Norv Turner said several weeks before the Falcons traded for the first overall pick, "but he has a lot of work to do."

Vick knows that. It was drummed into his head all winter and spring by Zeke Bratkowski, a former NFL quarterback who's now a consultant hired to work with quarterbacks coming out of college. …