| No. 14, 12 | |||||||||
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| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1969-03-07)March 7, 1969 (age 56) Darby, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 233 lb (106 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Ridley (Folsom, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
| College | Virginia | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1992: 2nd round, 40th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Matthew Brent Blundin (born March 7, 1969) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL). He played bothcollege football andbasketball for theVirginia Cavaliers. He was a backup in the NFL for theKansas City Chiefs and theDetroit Lions during the 1990s.
Blundin was a heavilyrecruited athlete by a number of colleges during his time inRidley High School. A standout in both football and basketball, Blundin once dunked onThe Dan Patrick Show blogger Andrew "McLovin" Perloff who played atLower Merion High School.Penn State recruited the Pennsylvania native to playfootball, however he enrolled at theUniversity of Virginia since he was promised the opportunity to playbasketball in addition to football. Blundin had limited basketballoffensive skills but was a valuable interior defender andrebounder for theCavalier basketball team. In 1989, Blundin was part of a Virginia team that advanced to theElite Eight of theNCAA Tournament. In football, Blundin was the primary back-up toShawn Moore from 1988 to 1990 and made twostarts 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 atMaryland. Blundin then developed a seriousbacterial infection in his throwing arm that forced him to miss the next two games, a win overNavy and a narrow road loss to highly rankedGeorgia Tech. Although backup Bobby Goodman performed well, especially against Georgia Tech, coachGeorge 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 atClemson. The Cavaliers finished the regular season 8–2–1 and were invited to theGator Bowl, where they suffered a lopsided loss to theOklahoma 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 singleinterception.[2] He also led theACC inpassing efficiency that year and was named the ACC player of the year.
| Year | Team | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1988 | Virginia | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | −11 | −11.0 | 0 |
| 1989 | Virginia | 16 | 37 | 43.2 | 264 | 7.1 | 2 | 3 | 104.8 | 7 | −24 | −3.4 | 1 |
| 1990 | Virginia | 28 | 42 | 66.7 | 388 | 9.2 | 2 | 4 | 140.9 | 10 | −20 | −2.0 | 1 |
| 1991 | Virginia | 135 | 224 | 60.3 | 1,902 | 8.5 | 19 | 0 | 159.6 | 30 | 10 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Career | 179 | 304 | 58.9 | 2,554 | 8.4 | 23 | 7 | 149.8 | 48 | −45 | −0.9 | 3 | |
Source:[3]
Despite Blundin's limited starting experience, his strong arm and 6'7" height resulted in him being drafted in the second round of the1992 NFL draft by theKansas City Chiefs.[4] In 1995, he was allocated to theScottish Claymores of theWorld League of American Football. Blundin received limited playing time in his career as a backup for the Chiefs and later theDetroit Lions.ESPNbroadcasterChris Berman gave him the nickname Matt "Werewolves of" Blundin which was inspired by the song "Werewolves of London" byWarren Zevon.
Blundin concluded his professional career with the Detroit Lions as the third-string quarterback in 1997. In week 11 against theWashington Redskins, Blundin entered the game in the fourth quarter after injuries to starting quarterbackScott Mitchell and backup quarterbackFrank Reich.[5] Blundin attempted one pass, his first since 1994, which was intercepted by Redskins safetyDarryl Pounds and returned for a touchdown.[6]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Passing | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | ||||
| 1993 | KC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 2 | 0.7 | 0 | 0 | 42.4 |
| 1994 | KC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 20.0 | 13 | 2.6 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | DET | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Career | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 22.2 | 15 | 1.7 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | |
Source:[7]
In January 2016, Blundin was named the athletic director atWoodberry Forest School, an all-male boarding school near Orange, Virginia.[8]