High School and College
Vlasic was born in Rochester, Pennsylvania. He attended high school at Center High School in Center Township, Pennsylvania, and was a standout in football and basketball during his time there. He was the starting quarterback for Center in his junior year, throwing for 777 yards in the first eight games of the season. In his junior year of basketball, Vlasic was a starter, in one game scoring 23 points and 11 rebounds with a bad back. He continued to play football and basketball during his senior year, with performances that included a 36-point effort against Las Vegas Western High School, making 18 of 20 shots. As a result of his high school career, Vlasic was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
After graduating from high school, Vlasic played college football at the University of Iowa. For four years, he served as a backup to Chuck Long, now a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. During his junior year, as the backup quarterback, he also served as the holder for field goal kicks. After placekicker Rob Houghtlin won a 12-10 game against the University of Michigan thanks to a last second field goal, a mob tore down the goalpost, which injured four fans including Vlasic, who was at the bottom of a pile of fans.
The following season Vlasic, now a fifth-year senior, became the starter, as Long graduated. Although he was taking over for the Heisman Trophy runner-up, his strong arm was complimented, albeit backhandedly, by coach Hayden Fry, who said, "He's got a stronger arm than Long, and he proves it every day by overthrowing his receivers." In Vlasic's first game as starter, he threw for 288 yards in a 43-7 win against Iowa State University, a game that made Hayden Fry the winningest coach in Iowa football history. After two more victories, Vlasic went down with a separated shoulder, returning to the lineup after freshmen Dan McGwire and Tom Poholsky took over the starting role. In a late October game against Northwestern, Vlasic threw a 93-yard touchdown pass to Quinn Early, the longest in Iowa history, in a 27-20 victory against Northwestern University. Despite his injury causing him to serve as a backup most of the season, he was given the start for the 1986 Holiday Bowl against San Diego State University. In the Holiday Bowl, Vlasic completed 15 of 28 passes 222 yards and ran for a touchdown as Iowa won, 39-38.
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