Matt Blundin

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Matt Blundin was the starting quarterback at The University of Virginia in 1991, and a back-up quarterback for a number of NFL teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions during the 1990s. Blundin was a heavily recruited athlete in high school. Penn State recruited the Pennsylvania native to play football, however he enrolled at Virginia since he was promised the opportunity to play basketball in addition to football. Blundin had limited offensive skills but was a valuable interior defender and rebounder for the Cavalier basketball team. In 1989, Blundin was part of a Virginia team that advanced to the Final 8 of the NCAA Tournament. In football, Blundin was the primary back-up to Shawn Moore from 1988 to 1990 and made two starts when Moore was injured. In the first game of the 1991 season, Virginia, which had an explosive offense in 1990, was only able to score 6 points in a loss at Maryland. Blundin then developed a serious bacterial infection in his throwing arm that forced him to miss the next two games, a win over Navy and a narrow road loss to highly ranked Georgia Tech. Although backup Bobby Goodman performed well, especially against Georgia Tech, coach George Welsh did not hesitate to restore Blundin as the starter. Both Blundin and the Cavaliers thrived for the remainder of the regular season, with the only setback a tie at Clemson. The Cavaliers finished the regular season 8-2-1 and were invited to the Gator Bowl, where they suffered a lopsided loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Blundin's most noteworthy accomplishment during his college career was that he threw 224 passes over the entire 1991 regular season without throwing a single interception. (Citation: See http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=20684) He also led the ACC in passing efficiency that year and was named the ACC player of the year. Despite Blundin's limited starting experience, his strong arm and 6'5" height resulted in him being drafted in the second round of the 1992 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Blundin received limited playing time in his career as a backup for the Chiefs and later the Detroit Lions. ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman gave him the nickname Matt "Werewolves of" Blundin which was inspired by the song Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon.

He currently teaches and coaches at Monticello High School in Charlottesville, VA. (Citation: See http://www.thesabre.com/sabremail/archives/2005/sabremail0197.html)