Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Radford University rugby player P.J. Komongnan transferred from Delaware State, where he was recruited to play football.

P.J. Komongnana

• Senior
• Hometown: Washington
• Age: 22
• Class: Sophomore
• Major: Criminal justice
• Years playing rugby: Nine

RADFORD -- P.J. Komongnan may have had a future in football.

But his heart was in rugby.

It still is.

Komongnan, who transferred to Radford University in the fall after a year at Delaware State, where he was recruited to play football, has emerged as the face of the RU men's rugby club that begins its spring season in January.

After just one semester with the club team, Komongnan has emerged as the unit's go-to player.

"The thing with P.J. is he's kind of a spark plug for the club," said RU rugby coach Mick Turk. "He kind of gives us the spark when we kind of need it. He's one that everybody feeds off of. He's a game-breaker. He can really pick everybody up when we're getting kind of in a rut."

Komongnan, who was introduced to Radford by his high school rugby coach, RU alumnus Tal Bayer, switched schools for dual reasons:

He lost his football scholarship after a shoulder injury kept him sidelined his entire freshman season. And Delaware State didn't have a rugby team.

Radford, conversely, doesn't have a football team like Delaware State.

That wasn't a problem for Komongnan.

"Some of the guys that's on the team now they always call me and tell me, 'You could have been out here starting,' " said the sophomore, who hails from Washington, D.C.

So does he ever wish he had stuck with football?

"Everyone's got to make decisions," Komongnan said. "Hopefully I made a good decision about playing rugby. I think I did make a good decision."

From his rugby exploits, it would appear so.

Komongnan was one of 12 rugby players from around the country selected for the U.S. National Sevens team that competed in Dubai the weekend of Nov. 30.

Last week, the team placed sixth out of 16 teams in a tournament in the South African city of George, giving the United States its best finish in several years.

Komongnan considered the opportunity to play abroad a privilege.

"Our composure, our attitude, everything is just the standards of the USA -- the standards of excellence, basically," he said.

In sevens rugby, only seven players per team are in the match simultaneously. Traditional rugby, which features 15 players on each side, can be challenging enough.

"In rugby it's all 15 guys," Komongnan said. "The only way you're going to win is with all 15 guys. ... If one guy slacks off you've got 14 on 15. A good team will find that gap and expose it."

To qualify for the U.S. National Sevens team, Komongnan had to attend three rugby camps, where some 70 players were eventually whittled down to 12.

Simple probability calculations reveal the chance of becoming a finalist to be slim.

But Komongnan's experience prepared him for the challenge. He played rugby throughout his time at Hyde Leadership Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.

He has also coached youth rugby and played on a Washington-area club.

Komongnan was hooked on the sport by age 13.

"He's just a real good feel for it," Turk said. "It just comes natural to him. He's just a natural at it."

Komongnan aspires to eventually play rugby professionally overseas and be a member of the United States team that competes in the rugby World Cup.

Whether that happens or not, he probably won't be going back to football any time soon.

"Rugby is just fun," he said. "I just enjoy it so much."