ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996 TAG: 9611040114
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
THE FORMER DEFENSIVE end at Virginia Tech has found his way to Lexington and the Keydets' game plan.
In the 1960s, George Foussekis liked to hammer running backs, quarterbacks and any other leather-carrying member of the football fraternity.
In the 1970s and '80s, he hammered football philosophy and technique into the minds of his players.
In the early 1990s, the only things Foussekis hammered were nails into the walls of houses he was restoring. He left coaching in 1991 and began to restore some rental property he owned in his hometown of Charlottesville. After a short time, however, he discovered that talking to a young football player was much more enjoyable than talking to a wall.
That's why this fall Foussekis (pronounced: Foo-SEEK-iss) is back in the coaching business, working with VMI's defensive line on a restricted earnings basis.
``I found out football is the only thing I know about,'' said Foussekis, a Virginia Tech Hall of Famer and 1968 graduate. ``And the fish weren't biting.''
Foussekis coached defense at Maryland for 20 years. He began under his coach at Tech, Jerry Claiborne, then stayed on with Bobby Ross, a VMI graduate, and left when Joe Krivak was pushed out after the 1991 season.
A player Foussekis recruited to Maryland pulled him back into coaching this spring. Chip Garber, a former Terrapins defensive back, became VMI's defensive coordinator and called Foussekis soon after he arrived at VMI. Foussekis voluntarily began a daily jaunt from Charlottesville to Lexington for spring practice. He enjoyed the spring so much that he agreed to work a full-time schedule on a part-time salary this fall. VMI has reciprocated by giving him a room next to the school hospital, which he uses from Monday through Friday.
``He's kept me in perspective,'' said Keydets coach Bill Stewart. ``We're so lucky to have a man like George Foussekis coach here at VMI.''
Many eyebrows were raised when Foussekis resurfaced at VMI, not because of the occupation, but because of the employer. ``I'm surprised it wasn't Auburn or Southern Cal or someplace like that,'' said Don Thacker, a Roanoke resident who played alongside Foussekis at Charlottesville's Lane High School and later at Tech. ``I'm glad to see him back. I wish he was at Tech.''
The salary wasn't a concern for Foussekis, partly because he always had a curiosity about VMI and partly because he wanted to be sure he was ready to immerse himself in coaching before he took a full-time stipend.
``Money isn't the issue for George,'' said Thacker. ``I always tell him, `You've never had to buy a car, you never got married, no wonder you've got so much money.'''
Foussekis' background has left him just as rich in friendships. While he had a penchant for knocking out people's teeth as a defensive tackle at Tech, he was known for a quiet, pleasant disposition when he was away from Lane Stadium.
Although Thacker said Foussekis was ``no social butterfly,'' he did get dressed up one night during his senior year and went out for a cotillion. As he walked out of his dormitory's front door, running back Kenny Edwards dumped a garbage can full or water on him from three stories above.
Unfazed and his smile unchanged, Foussekis went to the dance anyway.
``He's very mild-mannered,'' Thacker said. ``But I don't think anybody ever scored coming over top of us, although they may have run around us.''
Although known for his soft-spoken psychology, Foussekis' influence on his players can be seen in the statistics, too. Under his guidance, VMI's defensive line has risen from last to sixth in the Southern Conference in rushing defense. The Keydets also have 10 sacks this season, just three less than they had during the entire 1995 schedule.
Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, another former teammate, actually sought out Foussekis' expertise in 1992, but at the time, Foussekis wasn't ready to jump back into the coaching fray. ``Two weeks after I said I didn't want to do it, I did want to do it,'' Foussekis said. ``That's life sometimes.''
If the Hokies seek him out in the future, Foussekis likely would return to Blacksburg. It would be a natural move. Foussekis got Beamer his first graduate assistant job at Maryland in 1972.
``George Foussekis is the reason I got into college coaching,'' Beamer said.
After more than four years away from the field, Foussekis couldn't stay away. He actually missed working in film rooms and on football fields from 7 in the morning to 11 at night. He was drawn to VMI's emphasis on discipline. And he missed hammering tackling drills in the minds of his players much more than he missed hammering the nails in the walls of old homes.
``Now that I'm back into it, it's been good for me,'' Foussekis said. ``It gives you a sense of purpose.''
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: File 1967. ROGER HART\Staff. George Foussekis earnedby CNBsecond-team All-American honors as a defensive end at Virginia Tech.
Now, he's back as a defensive line coach, joining the ranks of VMI's
staff.