BURG Sports Network

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1st.  Who was your biggest Role model growing up?

 

Mike Answer : My biggest role model growing up was my dad, he played football at the Naval Academy and got us interested in sports at a young age. As I got older my mom became a big role model as well, She started her own CPA firm and has grown it to the point where she can hire both Matt and Me as employees.

 

Matt's Answer : My biggest role model growing up was my father. He was the one that got all of us kids into sports and always coached us growing up. He played at the Naval Academy, so we always sort of looked at that as the goal, to play sports in college like him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd What was it like to play for Coach Buckwalter at Dominion?

 

Mike's Answer : Playing for Coach Buck was great. Not only is he a good coach, taking us from 0-10 my sophomore year to the second round of the playoffs and our first playoff win as a program by my senior year, but he is a great advocate for the kids playing for him. I remember him pitching softballs during PE class while on the phone with college coaches trying to get them to come see us. By the time my brothers were going through the process Coach Buck had over a hundred schools come by to recruit the players.  

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Matt's Answer : Playing football for Coach Buckwalter was one of the greatest experiences of my life. He was a great coach that put in so much work and effort into Dominions program all year every year.  Coach Buck also helped all of my siblings as well as myself get recruited to play Division 1 athletics and we will always be grateful for him doing that. If it weren’t for him, I would have never had the chance to play at Virginia Tech.

 

3rd What was your favorite game during your Dominion High School career?

 

Mike's Answer : My favorite game was King George, our first playoff win. 

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Matt's Answer : I had many favorite games in my Dominion High School career but if I had to pick one, I would say beating Potomac Falls in our rival game to close out the 2013 regular season (Junior Year).

 

4th What was it like to play together Matt and Mike at Dominion and how crazy is it to see your younger brothers Tommy and Jimmy play together at Dominion like you both did?

 

Mike's Answer : Playing with Matt was really cool, we had played together in a bunch of other sports but never got the chance to play football together until high school. We went from fighting with one another at home to competing together. Your teammates always have your back during the game, but I also had Matt to have my back during practice if things got heated. Tommy would do the same for Jimmy when he was a freshman so watching them play together and go through a similar recruiting process as one another has been a blessing.

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Matt's Answer : Playing together at Dominion was a great experience. I never had a year at Dominion without a brother. I got to play along side Mike for my sophomore and junior years, then by the time he left tommy was a starter with me, so I never was on the field without a brother. My Junior year all three of us were all on the team together which was a cool experience. Its exciting watching my younger brothers grow through the program each year and have so much success with it. Since leaving Dominion we have had a brother playing every year to go home and watch.

 

5th What was it like to share the honor as team Captains at Dominion?

 

Mike's Answer : Even though Matt was a year younger he was always a leader in the weight room and on the field, so to have Coach Buck recognize that by making him a Captain with me was really special.

 

Matt's Answer : It was a great honor being a team captain my senior year. It meant a lot to me that Coach Buck thought enough of me to make me one of the captains. 

 

6th What was it like to be part of a special group of Dominion Titans Football players who went on to play the next level of the game (including yourself, Chad Smith, Deandre Reaves, in college or the pros?

 

Mike's Answer : It was great being part of that group of guys that shifted Dominion by putting in all the offseason work. There are too many guys to list for that special group but  making Dominion a playoff team and getting the opportunity to play in college it’s something we can all be proud of. Not to mention being able to watch friends of mine on tv is always cool and makes the games more exciting.

 

Matt's Answer : I’m proud to be part of a group that had the opportunity to play in college. A lot of guys worked very hard every day during the year to get the chance to play and I was blessed to have Coach Buck help me so much with recruiting to give me the opportunity.

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7th How did playing basketball in high school help you guys during the football season?

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Mike's Answer : I only played basketball till my junior year of high school but it helped keep us in shape. A lot of the footwork and agility we practiced in basketball carried over to football as well.

 

Matt's Answer : I had my ups and downs playing basketball throughout my four years playing at Dominion. I had a lot of fun, but as each sibling went through, we realized that just focusing on the one sport we aspire to play in college is most important.  As my family went through Dominion my siblings started to spend more and more time focused on one sport. Tommy stopped playing basketball after Sophomore year and Jimmy after his freshman year so they could take that time to get bigger, stronger and faster each year with Mase training and lifting on their own. Jackie also stopped playing Volleyball after one year to focus solely on her basketball training.

 

8th Matt: What was it like to play for Coach Frank Beamer and Coach Fuente at Virginia Tech?

Matt's Answer : It was a great experience being able to play for both coaches in my time at Virginia Tech. It was very cool to be there to see Beamer’s last year and also to be there as the new coaching staff made their transition in. I made lots of memories during my time playing for both and am very grateful to have played at tech.

 

9th Mike what was it like playing your first game in college at Monmouth?

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Mike's Answer : It was really nerve-racking, everyone is a little bit bigger than in high school and a lot faster so there was an adjustment for sure.  But once the first play went smoothly it was a lot of fun.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10th Matt what was it like to be part of the 2015 Independence Bowl & 2016 Belk Bowl beating Tulsa & Arkansas & what was your most memorable experience playing at Virginia Tech?

 

Matt's Answer : The Bowl games were defiantly the highlights of each season. It was fun to travel to a different city each year and get all the bowl gear that comes with the games. My favorite bowl game was going to Orlando my Junior year, and my most memorable experience at Virginia Tech was beating UVA my senior year in overtime. It was awesome being able to win a game so close against my younger brother. I was cheering for my team the whole game but was also cheering for Tommy to do well and had a great time watching him start the game and make plays against us. He played great and we still won, so it was best of both worlds for me. It was an experience most college players never get to experience and it was by far the most memorable.

 

11th Mike: what was the most memorable game you played in during your college career at Monmouth?

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Mike Answer : There were a few memorable games but if I had to pick one it would probably be my Junior year when we beat a Fordham at home in overtime. The fans stormed the field with the rest of the team to celebrate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12th What was it like for you both to run out of the tunnel on your Senior Day and share it with your family?

 

Mike Answer :  Family is very important to me so to be able to share that with them was great. Especially given all the sacrifices my parents had to make growing up to get me where I was.

 

Matt's Answer  : Senior Day was probably the most rewarding day for me at Virginia Tech. I was happy to have made it that far in a program where many kids never finish playing through senior year.  I was not a scholarship player and I worked hard every day at Virginia Tech, so on senior day I felt happy and proud to have gotten to that point.

 

13 Mike and Matt What advice would you give an incoming freshman who wants to play football at Dominion, Monmouth, and Virginia Tech?

 

Mike's Answer : I would tell them to get used to working hard and enjoy it. Everyone wants to be the guy making the plays on gameday but not everyone wants to put in the work it takes to get there. To the freshman who want to play at Monmouth I would tell them that it’s a year-round sport there is no offseason so you have to be mentally ready for the daily routine. The workload changes as well it’s not just workouts you have to be ready to sit in meetings for hours and learn new plays/schemes much faster than in highschool.

 

 

Matt's Answer : The advice I would give to kids who want to play football at dominion is to work hard everyday at all the workouts and to have fun, because high school football will be some of the best memories you will ever have. Second, I would say if you want to play football in college, you better be ready to make a huge life commitment for the amount of time and energy it takes.