Mooney's interest in Virginia goes back to last fall, when he attended a game against visiting Florida State.
"The place was packed. Just a great atmosphere. It was pretty loud in there," he said. "Then afterward, everybody was walking around in the streets and I really liked the whole scene.
"Virginia did have some interest all along. One of their assistants, Mike Faragalli, who's a Philly guy, came to our school in April and said he thought things could work out and that I could really help myself by making a visit [unofficial] down there so everyone could see me. I did that 2 weeks ago and then they made the offer."
Aside from Virginia, Mooney made check-things-out stops at Villanova, Delaware, Purdue and Northwestern. He liked the latter a lot, but Virginia won out and his family, with geography in mind, didn't mind one bit.
Michael's brother, Sean (Malvern '11), is headed for Towson. Sean last fall earned first team Daily News All-City honors on the defensive line (end); Michael was a third-teamer (offensive line).
"It helps that Virginia is pretty close to Towson," Michael said.
Indeed, but there also will be days when both teams are playing simultaneous home games. Where will family members go?
"As the older brother, I guess he gets first rights on that one," Michael said, laughing. "Ah, maybe we can switch things off and on."
Said coach Kevin Pellegrini: "With his skill already, and potential, many more offers would have been coming for Michael. Once he got the full view of Virginia, it really hit home for him from numerous aspects." *
