Nunes

This is the second in a series of seven articles profiling the 2009 inductees into the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame.By JOHN ENRIETTOEagle Sports EditorCRANBERRY TWP Football and Troy Nunes were meant for each other.The 1998 Butler graduate and son of former Butler coach Tim Nunes was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Golden Tornado. He then started off and on for four years at Syracuse University.Now employed by Wachovia and Wells Fargo Corporation, Nunes handles financial planning and investments for 17 NFL players.Teryl Austin was Syracuse's recruiting coordinator when Nunes decided to go there. He is now defensive backs coach of the Arizona Cardinals and one of Nunes' clients.Nunes, 29, will be inducted into the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame at the organization's 44th annual banquet April 25 at the Butler Days Inn."I was talking football before I was speaking English," Nunes said. "I figured out some play calls when I was 5."Because of the situation I was in growing up, Coach (Sam) Albert gave me the opportunity to start as a freshman at Butler, probably because I knew football a lot more than I should have at the time."Besides playing football at Butler, Nunes lettered three years in basketball and track and field as well. He received the Ed Hartman Memorial Award for track in 1998 and ran a leg of the Tornado's record-breaking 400-meter relay team that reached the state finals.Nunes threw for more than 1,000 yards in his junior and senior seasons in high school, both six-win campaigns."It was a shame we missed the playoffs during those years, but they only took two teams from each section back then," said former Butler coach Mark Farabee."Troy had excellent speed, awareness and vision. He was a high school prototype of a playmaker. He was a bit ahead of his time that way."Nunes said the coaching he received at Butler is one of the fondest memories of his playing career."George Abraham was one of the best basketball coaches in Pennsylvania," he said. "Sam Albert has been successful everywhere he's been and I grew up with Mark Farabee's son (Jared), so I was close to that entire family."Nunes still respects his coaches the way his father's former players still respect their coach."Guys four or five years older than me still refer to my dad as 'Coach.' I know exactly how they feel," he said."I idolized my father growing up. Getting my college education paid for, playing in three bowl games none of that happens if it wasn't for him."Nunes opted for Syracuse over Boston College, Pitt and Yale. The latter school was too expensive, Walt Harris was bringing other quarterbacks to Pitt and Boston College was bringing in Brian St. Pierre."B.C. was really interested in Troy during his junior year," Farabee recalled. "But it came down to him or St. Pierre and they went with St. Pierre."That left Syracuse for Nunes. He redshirted his freshman year with the Orange, which also was Donovan McNabb's senior campaign."It was tough following Donovan because everybody was going to make comparisons," Nunes said. "In college football, there's one Donovan per generation. He was special."We were different. He was 240 pounds coming to college, an option quarterback from Chicago. I was 150 pounds coming to college, a dropback passer from Butler."He had a cannon arm. I didn't. He ran a 4.4 40. I couldn't. Football-wise, I wasn't going to be the best Donovan McNabb. What I learned from him was how to handle things off the field," Nunes added.Nunes threw four touchdown passes against East Carolina his junior year, tying McNabb's school record. He tied the Syracuse record for completions in a game against Brigham Young his sophomore season.During his senior season, Nunes replaced R.J. Anderson as the starter and threw for 403 yards in a 50-42 triple-overtime upset of No. 8 Virginia Tech. He and Marvin Graves are the only Syracuse quarterbacks to throw for 400 yards in a game.Nunes played in the Orange Bowl, Music City Bowl and Insight.com Bowl during his college career. He ranks among the top five QBs in Syracuse history in completion percentage, completions, touchdown passes and yards passing.He threw 32 touchdown passes for the Orange, including three against Pitt his freshman year."He was a Pitt killer," Farabee said. "They should have taken him."Nunes' favorite college memory was the atmosphere."I had a chance to play at some outstanding venues," he said. "We played at Auburn, Tennessee, Michigan just coming out of the tunnel in those stadiums, I'll never forget that."Tickets for the banquet are $20 and are available at Bill's Beer Barn or any Hall of Fame committee member.