Dual-Sport Athletes Help Forge Spirit of Cooperation at UVA

For the moment, Matt, Mark and Terry know football. And soon, they’ll know basketball, too.

In these days of situational substitutions and specialty players, it’s rare for a Division I school to produce one athlete who participates in more than one sport, much less two.

But, in the grand tradition of Bo Jackson, Virginia Coach George Welsh has three football players -- backup quarterback Matt Blundin, reserve tight end Mark Cooke, and reserve tailback Terry Kirby -- who double as basketball players for Virginia Coach Terry Holland.

And while no one’s quite sure why Virginia has become the spot for this mass throwback to the days where many collegiate athletes routinely bounced from sport to sport year round, no one, least of all, Blundin, Cooke and Kirby or their coaches is complaining.

“I think it’s hard on them, but like they say about most things, if you really want to do something, you’ll do it. You’ll work it out,” said Welsh.

Although Blundin, a 6-7 junior, who started at forward on last year’s Final 8 basketball team, and Cooke, a 6-4 senior swingman, who saw limited action last season, were basketball players first, Holland understands that, for now, Welsh needs them and freshman Kirby to complete a season which may give the school its first Atlantic Coast Conference football championship and New Year’s Day bowl bid ever.

“The way I’ve approached it is we’ve had other players who play basketball that could help other sports,” said Holland. “I work for the athletic department and I want all our programs to do well. The rule of thumb is whoever needs the player the most has priority.”

In fact, earlier this season, when starting quarterback Shawn Moore was injured and forced to miss the Clemson game, Blundin, who had sat for most of last season, but moved to back-up on the depth chart after spring practice, stepped in.

Although the Cavaliers lost 34-20, Blundin more than handled the situation, completing 14 of 34 passes, for 248 yards and two touchdowns, one of them a 75-yard strike to receiver Herman Moore.

“I told George that I don’t mind that Matt could sit around the whole year without playing because when he needs him, he needs him much more desperately than I would,” said Holland.

Blundin, who was a Parade magazine All-America quarterback and the second leading scorer in school history at Ridley High in Milmont Park, Pa., was the first of the three players to play both sports. He was recruited by Holland to play basketball, but was given a football scholarship.

“I don’t know if he had any intention of playing football or not. He didn’t come out for it. Then, at the end of (Blundin’s first) basketball season, he came to me right before spring practice and asked if we’d take a look at him. He had Terry Holland’s permission, so we did,” said Welsh.

Blundin, who averaged six points and about six rebounds a game last season, is practicing basketball on Sunday, the only day where football demands aren’t as heavy as during the rest of the week.

“I haven’t reached a point where I’ve decided that I want to concentrate on one sport,” said Blundin. “I guess I would drop one (sport) if I felt I was hurting one team or the other, but I don’t see that happening.”

Holland believes that Blundin, who has two more years of football eligibility and is in line to become the starter when Shawn Moore graduates in one year, could be an exceptional quarterback.

In addition, Holland says that playing football has actually helped Blundin strengthen his ailing knees, which required three operations in eight months.

“He’s got very bad knees, but he’s responded miraculously,” said Holland. “I attribute some of that to football. I do think that his playing football has helped him in basketball, as crazy as it may sound.”

“I’d like to have Matt in practice, but I don’t worry, because I know that I can count on him fairly quickly once he gets here.”

Meanwhile, Cooke, who was a high school teammate of Shawn Moore at Martinsville High School in Martinsville, Va., approached Welsh after last season asking for a chance to play football.

“He played three years of basketball and we never heard about him. Then, all of a sudden, he did the same thing last spring. I don’t know why,” said Welsh.

Cooke’s rationale for playing football was that he saw no future in basketball, a reasonable inference since he had averaged no more than four minutes a game during his career, and wanted to try a new experience.

And while Cooke wasn’t even listed on the preseason depth chart, he has become the back-up tight end to junior Bruce McGonnigal.

“I love to play against people and football has given me that,” said Cooke. “I’ve gotten back some of that competitiveness playing football.”

While Blundin and Cooke may have flaws in either football or basketball, everyone at Virginia believes that Kirby is flawless in both sports.

The 6-3 Kirby is seen as a can’t miss talent in both sports. In football, he was the Parade Magazine Player of the Year last season at Tabb High School in Tabb, Va., rushing for 2,168 yards and 30 touchdowns. In basketball, he averaged 27 points, 4.4 assists and 4.3 steals a game and was named state player of the year. He was all-state for three straight years.

“Kirby was recruited for both sports because that’s what he wanted to do and he’s good enough to play both sports,” said Welsh. “Kirby’s just an exceptional athlete. A 6-3 guard. That’s not too bad. He’s a big tailback and he’s going to be a nice sized guard.”

So far, Kirby is having a decent freshman year, with 58 carries in eight games for 233 yards, along with six catches.

Their decisions have forced Blundin, Cooke and Kirby to balance two difficult sports, their studies and social lives and make adjustments along the way.

“It’s tough, it’s very difficult. You have to be very disciplined. You probably have no social life from August to the end of basketball season, except for Saturday nights. It’s athletics and studies,” said Welsh.

“In high school, it wasn’t this hard,” said Cooke. “Here, you have practices and meetings to go to. It’s a big difference. But my professors have been really understanding and things are working out. It’s tiring, though.”

“I don’t think it’s as big of a problem as people think,” said Blundin. “Guys who are playing athletics ought to be able to adjust. It teaches you discipline to get done what needs to be done. I appreciate my free time more because of this.”