
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 11, 1993                   TAG: 9312110162
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From staff and wire reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MIKE CLARK TO APPLY FOR VMI JOB

Mike Clark, VMI's defensive coordinator last season, said Friday he will apply for the head coaching job at the institute, which fired Jim Shuck on Tuesday.

This was Clark's first season at VMI and under Shuck, who compiled a 14-40-1 record over five years. Clark spent five years as defensive coordinator at Virginia Tech and has also held assistant coaching positions at Arizona and Murray State.

"Having been here a year, I'm aware of the special challenges at VMI plus the special rewards for those who meet those challenges," Clark said. "I'm going to pursue it and see what direction it turns."

In other college news:

Robby Rasmussen, the 1993 Virginia State Golf Association Junior Player of the Year, has signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Virginia Tech, the school announced Friday.

Rasmussen, a Chesapeake native, won the 1993 VSGA Junior Championship and the prestigious Bobby Bowers Memorial title this past summer. He led Great Bridge High School to an undefeated season and the Group AAA state championship this past fall.

Rasmussen joins former Great Bridge teammate Curtis Deal at Tech. Deal is now a freshman and the Hokies' No. 2 player.

"Robby's experience and success on the national level should make him a contender for a starting position immediately," said Jay Hardwick, Tech coach.

Charles Preston, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound defensive end from Hargrave Military Academy, has become the first player to give an oral commitment to Virginia's football staff this year.

Preston is from Washington, D.C., where he played his senior year at Cardozo High School. Hargrave coach Joe Freeland said Preston canceled visits to Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tulane.

Buddy Green, defensive coordinator at N.C. State and a former VMI assistant, was named Friday to succeed Tommy West as head football coach at UT-Chattanooga.

Green signed a five-year contract with the Southern Conference school for a reported $65,000 a year, effective Jan. 2.

Green inherits a squad which was 6-16 the past two seasons, and had losing streaks of nine and five games. West, after a year on the job, left two weeks ago to become head coach at Clemson.

Green will spend the next two days meeting the team and coaching staff. He will then return to Raleigh, N.C., to prepare the Wolfpack for their Hall of Fame Bowl against Michigan on Jan. 1.

by CNB