Kickin' it with Jeff Del Verne

There are your team characters. And then there's fifth-year senior Jeff Del Verne. Anyone who has spoken to Del Verne for five minutes knows that he's the best quote on the Michigan football team.

Chris Duprey

Dupe's Scoop

Rather than keep him a media secret, here's Del Verne unplugged in The Michigan Daily's version of the Sunday Conversation.

Duprey: So are you somewhat recognizable around campus, now that you're the starting kicker?

Del Verne: Not really. If you could take a lineup of 10 people, I'd probably be the last one they'd pick (to be a Michigan football player).

I don't really go on campus that often. No one has any idea who I am. I live with (long snapper) Jeremy Miller. We just beat each other up in video games all the time.

Duprey: You're seen as one of the team's biggest jokers. Is this well-deserved?

Del Verne: Me, Dave Armstong and Jake Frysinger are all known as jokers. I like to impersonate the coaches?

Duprey: You must do a great Lloyd Carr.

Del Verne: Nah. He's not as fun as the other guys. He's kind of solemn.

Duprey: What other amusing stuff have you done in the past?

Del Verne: My freshman year, we (the kickers) started doing tackling drills. The first couple of days we were all beat up. One day I came out with a neck roll and eye black and said, 'All right, let's do some hitting.'

Duprey: What's a part of your life outside of football?

Del Verne: Since I'm only going to be here one semester, I have a sublet. I'm living with four girls: Michelle, Kristin, Rebecca and Susan. They're so supportive of Jeremy and I.

Duprey: Anything unusual about that arrangement?

Del Verne: They clean all the time. They leave a lot of notes - if you take a smelly dump or if your car is blocking them in.

Living with girls is a lot different. It's been fun, because the house is always clean.

Duprey: After this experience, does your girlfriend see you as a little bit more of a polished, refined guy?

Del Verne: She likes it, because my room doesn't smell. Otherwise, I'd get a note if it smelled.

Duprey: Was this experience a surprise to you?

Del Verne: I didn't expect it to be so much different in terms of cleanliness, house meetings ...

Duprey: House meetings?

Del Verne: I've only been to one. We just talked about the parking and the cleaning duties. It took like a half-hour. I thought it was hilarious. Girls are so much more organized than guys.

At the meeting, they were talking about closet space, you know, in the kitchen. Jeremy and I were like, 'We haven't cooked in three years, so you can have all the space.' They were in shock.

Duprey: How has it been? Would you get into this kind of arrangement again?

Del Verne: Yeah. There's always a clean place to shower and sleep.

Duprey: So what are your plans for life after football?

Del Verne: I've been looking for some jobs, doing some interviews.

Duprey: What do you think will come out of it?

Del Verne: Hopefully someone will come up to me after a game and say, 'Do you want to be a millionaire?'

Duprey: You must have a pretty interesting resume with Michigan football on there.

Del Verne: My resume says all these football things. I go in there (to interviews) thinking, 'How am I in any way qualified for this?'

- Chris Duprey can be reached at cduprey@umich.edu.