Page 8-Thursday, November 1, 1979-The Michi Virgil puts By BILLY NEFF freshman He has put Buchanan, Michigan, on Stadium, no rthe map. Without any movie theaters or this presentr Troller skating rinks and with one recen- Virgil, who tly arrived fast food restaurant, tion, has had Buchanan is not a sprawling along, how metropolis. But due to recent events, Michigan) s Buchanan, a mere 20 minutes from Well, I had h .South Bend, Indiana, may have to name my age sai a street in this person's honor since he Michigan. T is now their most famous resident. incentive," s He is Michigan punter and place But once kicker Bryan Virgil, whose kicking Michigan ki .problems have been a cause celebre ce the bed o this year. Virgil has connected on just many things two of 11 field goal attempts, and case, the be coupled with teammate Ali Haji- thorny. "I Sheikh's 0 for 6 figures, it has been quite making myf a disappointing season for the trade it for ti ,Wolverine kickers. "I DON'T BUT FOUR years ago, no one would It's kind of li .have imagined that the second team all baseball go conference Buchanan High School What's been quarterback and a first team all con- well in prac ference linebacker would be in the them in the -spotlight someday as the kicker for Big frustrating b Ten leading Michigan. Three years ago, into kicking ,when this same prep football star was a practice. Pr FAME FROM MISFORTUNE Buchanan on spectator in Michigan one could have envisioned reality. o fits the previous descrip- I a silent faith in himself all ever. "It's (kicking for omething to dream about. hopes I'd get this far. Kids d I wouldn't make it at hat gave me a little more aid Virgil. the dream of being the cker had been fulfilled, on- of roses had been planted, could happen. In Virgil's d of roses has been rather 'm disappointed in not field goals, but I wouldn't he world," Virgil said. want to say I've choked. ke a slump. If somebody in oes 0-30, that's similar. frustrating is that I kick tice and then don't make game. It's been especially because I put all that time and I do make them in obably the most frustrating thing is to wait another week before looking at those goalposts again." You wish there was another game right then," said Virgil. Despite all of the difficulties the senior engineering major has encoun- tered, he still retains the same silent faith he had while practicing in Buchanan. "Some weeks I kick more in practice, some weeks less. I'll .try anything. I have to keep my confidence. Once you lose your confidence, you'll go downhill. But no, I haven't lost any con- fidence in myself; I need a field goal, though, I tell ya," he added. Virgil may not have lost any con- fidence in himself, but Coach Bo Schembechler seems to have lost some confidence in his kickers. Or at least, he lost enough confidence in Virgil earlier in the year to make Haji-Sheikh his kicker. But as Haji-Sheikh fell out of Bo's good graces, Virgil was made the placekicker again. "They (the coaches) planned on me kicking this year. But I had some problems and they felt if Ali would do the kicking, then I could get my con- fidence back punting. If Ali was doing a real good job, they would have kept him there," asserted Virgil, who has con- verted all his extra points this season. "I FELT BAD because I didn't kick well enough for the job. If I wasn't doing the job, then I wasn't helping the team. But I was glad to have another chance to kick again," the 5-9 , 194- pounder admitted. So the job of placekicker seems to be his and his alone now, and chances are IkeATHLET'S SHOP Lady Brooks 25% o 309 S. State the map he won't be booted again by Bo. "He might be a little frustrated that I'm not kicking that well. It's frustrating for him to watch me make them in prac- tice. He's almost like a father in that respect. He treats you as if you were a son. If you don't do your best, then he feels bad for you," Virgil noted. Virgil was treated with paternal care early on in the season when 'Father' Bo took offense to kicking queries. "I didn't pursue the situation when I heard about it. That's Bo's situation; it's none of my business. I think everybody on the team knows that Bo looks after the team. It's like a family. You have to have faith in each other if you're going to have the kind of program Michigan has," Virgil concluded. But do the players maintain the same faith? "On the team, they've been really good about it. They've given me confidence. They've said don't worry about it. It's got to be a little disapoin- ting for them to see me make them in practice and not in the games. But they never said, hey; you're letting us down. They're hoping I'll do the best I can do," said Virgil. AS ALL KICKERS will tell you, doing your best is often contingent on your mental makeup. "A lot of it is a mental game. I almost see the ball go through before I kick it. Sometimes I might worry about whether I pulled the ball too much in practice. It's (the problem with field goals) in the back of my mind," related Virgil, who has one year of eligibility remaining. It hasn't been the best year for Virgil. The beginning of the season was probably an indication of things to come. In the Notre Dame contest, he had a punt blocked and also linebacker Bobby Crable leaped up to throttle his last second field goal attempt. That field goal meant a lot to Virgil, who grew up in Notre Dame country. "I r kind of dislike Notre Dame. You've STA R BR. 109 N. Main St.-769-0'109 APPEARING TONIGHT: STEVE NARDELLA BAND Coming Tues., Nov. 6 "GANG WARS" "Ann Arbor's Original Honky Tank Dance Bar" BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN NATIVE Bryan Virgil (see inset) is seen here punting the pigskin in Michigan's 12-10 loss to Notre Dame. The walk-on senior has gained some noteriety because of the Wolverines floundering kick- ing game. Virgil is back as the team's number one field goal kicker after being temporarily displaced by freshman Haji-Sheikh. lived there your whole life and all you hear is Notre Dame, Notre Dame. I really had no desire to go there," Virgil added. "It would be like someone from Michigan State living in Ann Arbor. If I would have made that field goal, I wouldn't have minded missing all the rest because it was Notre Dame." But as we all know, that field goal was not converted and subsequent missed field goals led to a large hullaballou in the media. "I don't read the papers that much. I think writers JUNIOR YEAR AT SMITH Northampton, Massachusetts A private liberal arts college for women Where you can find - a small undergraduate college with the diversity of a large university - courses and resources of exceptional range and quality, all accessible to undergraduates - life in closely knit college houses and involvement iin communities Tigers trade to get' Mets' Richie Hebner NEW Tigers YORK (AP) - The Detroit traded third baseman Phil beyond the campus V A student body of 2500, a faculty of 250, in a city of 35,000. Located in the Connecticut River Valley. Smith, Amherst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke Colleges and the University of Massachusetts make up the Five Colleges, Inc., community. ourar 1 1 i 1 a " A 'f N 3' t:y w aN M Fsy* For brochure and application forms, write: junior Year at Smith College Hall 23 Smith College Northampton, MA 01063 Mankowski and outfielder Jerry Morales to the New York Mets yester- day in exchange for third baseman Richie Hebner. Hebner batted .268 with 10 home runs and 79 runs-batted-in with the Mets af- ter he was acquired from Philadelphia on March 27 in exchange for pitcher Nino Espinosa. Hebner had a clause in his contract which allowed him to ask to be traded at the conclusion of the. Smith College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, handicap, or national origin. Mona, I've finally State Farm? decided where I'd like Great Plowshares! to make my You're going to be career: State Farm! a soil tiller. Living an agrarian f lifestyle! Come on now! tan isrance Virgil, you're going aninsranto be a salesman? company. j/How could you? Even if they'd have you... 2 season. Although Hebner, 31, did not make a formal request, his agent, Ed Kleven, said the deal was "best for the Mets and Richie." Morales, 30, batted .211 with 14 homers and 56 RBI in his only season with Detroit. The Tigers acquired him from St. Louis in a four-player trade last Dec. 4. Originally signed by the Mets in 1966, Morales was claimed in the expansion draft which stocked the San Diego Padres in 1968. He played with San Diego, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis before he was traded to Detroit. Mankowski, 26, batted .222 in 42 games with the Tigers last season. A left-handed hitter, he was originally signed by Detroit in June, 1973 free agent draft. amity Review Seminars 15 student average class size Team teaching technique Convenient weekend classes EXCLUSIVE MATH REERESHEt 800-243-4767 are sometimes cruel but that's built in- to the system. They lay the facts on the line. Sometimes," the truth hurts, but you have to take the bitter with the sweet," Virgil said. That's abitter pill for all of us to swallow, but Virgil seems to be han- dling the situation nicely. "When you have a downfall, you can become a bet- ter person. If everything came easily, it wouldn't be worth working for," Virgil injected. It's been enough work just putting Buchanan on the map. Gridde Picks Drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll, is that it? Is that all you think about? Don't any of you degenerates ever take your minds off this immoral trio of vices? Just the other night, in fact, when I was lying in bed with a cute fourteen-year- old friend listening to Ted Nugent and doing some chemistry experiments, it disgustedme to think of how decadent you all are. I mean, what about the finer things in life? Like pizza, for instance. That's right, pizza-that ever-marvelous munchie. Or is food out of your "cosmic wave- length"? If not-if you're not too far gone-then truck on down to 420 Maynard and get your Gridde picks in by midnight Friday, because, my friends, if you're sharp (or just plain lucky) you may end up toe happy recipient of a small, one-item pizza from Pizza Bob's itself. 1. Wisconsin at MICHIGAN (pick score) 2. Ohio St. at Illinois 3. Michigan St. at Northwestern 4. Purdue at Iowa 5. Minnesota at Indiana 6. Wake Forest at Clemson 7. Duke at Georgia Tech 8. N. C. State at S. Carolina 9. N. Carolina at Maryland 10. Colorado at Iowa St. 11. Arizona St. at Stanford 12. Washington at California 13. Texas Tech at Texas 14. Central Michigan at Toledo 15. Yale at Cornell 16. Eastern Michigan at Ball St. 17. Army at Air Force 18. Navy at Notre Dame 19. Montana at Montana St. 20. DAILY LIBELS at KCIA Mona, there's more to insurance than selling policies. Insurance is 4 * opportunity. State Farm is looking for people interested in a data processing career. I 3 don't have a computer r science degree but I do have six hours of data processing courses. So I qualify! STATE FARM IN$UR AN41E 47 Virgil, you're putting meon. Acareer In law-!=* without law school. After just three months of study at The Institute for Paralegal Training in exciting Philadelphia, you can have a stimulating and rewarding career in law or business - without law school. As a lawyer's assistant you will be performing many of the duties traditionally handled only by attorneys. And at The Institute for Paralegal Training, you can pick one of seven different areas of law to study. Upon completion of your training, The Institute's unique Placement Service will find you a responsible and challenging job in a law firm, bank or corporation in the city of your choice. The Institute for Paralegal Training is the nation's first and most respected school for paralegal training. Since 1970, we've placed over 2,500 graduates in over 85 cities nationwide. if you're a senior of high academic standing and looking for an above average career, contact your Placement Office for an interview with our representative. We will visit your campus on: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6 No way, Mona. State Farm is looking for men and women with any degree and 5 six to nine hours w- of data process- n courses. \course, you ve got to be interested in Good grief! They're . omnivorous. t No, but they're also interested in people in mathematics, accounting, law and actuarial sciences. 7 Incidentally, the pay is oreat!