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Virgil Is Proving Worth Near Home
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Virgil is now the one who will not leave. On Sundays -- Virgil's lone day off -- he walks around the stone-and-grass Virginia Tech campus, takes a seat and calls his family in Rocky Mount with the same sentiment each time: "This feels like home."
He has a two-year old daughter who lives with his parents and his girlfriend's parents. Virgil's parents were steadfast about him staying in Blacksburg instead of transferring closer to home. If he remains in school, Virgil will become the first member of his family to graduate a four-year college.
"This is done now," Sandra Virgil, Stephan's mother, told him at the time. "Stay in school. We can do what we can now. You're better off with a degree."
Virgil speaks to his daughter almost every night before she goes to sleep. When he's home in Rocky Mount, he will not go out with friends until he's given her a bath and put her to bed. When she watches Virginia Tech on television, she identifies which player is "Daddy."
After the East Carolina game, students around campus also identified Virgil. He did not answer his cell phone for two days after the game because it continued ringing. He shuffled through 100 friend requests on Facebook, a social networking site.
It was his first start, and one that came only after Virgil spent the offseason elevating his grades in effort to remain eligible. A summer internship at an apartment complex coincided with his apparel, hosing and resource management major and provided the grade he needed to play this season.
Virgil's assignment on Saturday is North Carolina star receiver Brandon Tate in front of friends and family only a little more than 80 miles from where his father drove his coaches to the airport in the ice storm.
The game might affect whether Virginia Tech can continue pilfering North Carolina for prospects. The Hokies have 13 players from North Carolina, including five from their most recent recruiting class. It creates a confluence of influences for a matchup that might not dictate just who plays for the ACC title, but whether players like Virgil will continue helping the Hokies on the football field.
"Obviously [Davis is] going to recruit that state, but we have such a great name now, too," Hite said. "Maybe years ago we couldn't go down there and get a kid, but now we can."
