Soccer-to-football switch gives Cuko a leg up

AMHERST -- It's amazing how far a friendly ''hello" can go.

Armando Cuko wasn't just another fresh-faced freshman when he arrived at Beverly High in September of 2001. After growing up in Albania and Italy, he had to learn a new language and adapt to a new culture.

But Cuko did know one thing that transcended the continents -- soccer. The 14-year-old quickly endeared himself to his Beverly peers by starring for the Panthers in the sport that is Europe's pastime.

That led to an encounter with football standout Jay Munroe in the school's weight room. Munroe, then a junior, introduced himself to Cuko and joked that he should bring those magical goaltending hands to the gridiron the following year and play wide receiver.

Cuko took him up on his offer and four years later he's a scholarship football player on the highly touted University of Massachusetts football team.

Not bad for a kid who hardly knew what American football was before Munroe said hello.

''If Jay hadn't come up to me that day, I probably wouldn't have ever played football," said Cuko, who will wear No. 31 for the Minutemen. ''I don't know what it was about him. I liked his personality and I remember thinking how I wanted to be around guys like that."

Despite earning soccer team MVP honors his freshman year, Cuko followed through with his decision to play football. It was a choice that unnerved his parents, Vllasi and Vjollca, who worried their son would injure himself playing a sport with more contact.

Fate intervened once again.

''One of the first days of practice they made everyone attempt a field goal," said Cuko. ''I made mine on the first try and since then I've been the kicker. . . . My parents were happy because they saw that kickers didn't have much of a chance of getting tackled."

Cuko's soccer-strengthened right leg made him a natural for the kicking duties. The only problem was he didn't know the rules of the game, so before every kickoff or field goal attempt, his teammates would have to explain to him what was about to happen.

It didn't take Cuko long to learn the intricacies of the game. By junior year, the recruiting letters were rolling in from prestigious colleges across the nation.

''I only coached Armando for two years, but he got better and better each year, not as a result of our coaching, but his internal drive," said Beverly football coach Dan Bauer. ''His work ethic is tremendous."

His senior season at Beverly, Cuko connected on five of six field goal attempts and 16 of 17 point-after attempts. What's more, 90 percent of his kickoffs landed inside the opponent's 5-yard line and 75 percent carried into the end zone. Sprinkle in a 38-yard average on punts and it's easy to see why colleges, even those at the I-A level like former national champion LSU, were hot on his trail.

But rarely are kickers offered scholarships. So Cuko had to decide between walking on at a big-name program, or accepting a scholarship at the I-AA level. UMass head coach Don Brown was thrilled to land the game-changing talent.

''I had a chance to watch him kick and, from an evaluation standpoint, we thought he had the potential to be a scholarship player," said Brown. ''Knowing the kind of competitor he is, we made a commitment to him. He's responded by coming in here and fitting in well."

Cuko is the only true place-kicker on the Minutemen's roster this season, meaning the coaching staff believes he is capable of handling the pressure of one of the most important and underrated positions on the field.

The 6-foot, 195-pound Cuko again endeared himself to his new teammates by connecting on five of six field goal attempts in a preseason scrimmage this past Tuesday. That effort included boots of 47, 44, 42, 39, and 37 yards.

''After he made three field goals in a row, I heard a player say, 'Hey! I think I'm going to like this guy,' " said Brown. ''The bottom line is that if he makes a lot of kicks, he's going to make a lot of friends."

Cuko moved from Albania to Italy when he was 7 and from Italy to America at 14, leaving behind two sisters, Bedrana and Marjola.

Fluent in the native languages of the three countries he's lived in, Cuko plans to study foreign languages at UMass and hopes to add Spanish and Portuguese to his repertoire.

He also hopes to return to Europe some day. But for now he's content to be a football player and make new friends.

''It's surreal how it all happened," said Cuko. ''Four years ago I had no idea about this game. Now, I have to keep working hard at it, but hopefully I have a future in this game."