Fond memories
This is part of a summer series of Q&A features profiling Butler County area sports personalities.
Troy Nunes is a 1998 Butler High School graduate who was a four-year starter at quarterback in football. He was also a multiple letterwinner in basketball and track.
Nunes had back-to-back 1,000-yard passing seasons his junior and senior years with the Golden Tornado and threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 32 touchdowns in four years at Syracuse University.
What are you doing now?I’m a financial adviser for Wells Fargo out of Wexford and have 18 active NFL players as clients. Two are Steelers who were first-round draft picks.
Do you regret not taking a shot at the NFL as an undrafted free agent?I actually got a look in mini-camp with the Buffalo Bills and they offered to send me to (NFL) Europe for development. The opportunity was there to pursue that, but the NFL doesn’t have much of a market for 6-foot-1, 180-pound quarterbacks.With the business I’m in now, seeing how long it takes to develop a clientele, I’m glad I chose not to pursue that opportunity.
What was your favorite memory of your years at Syracuse?We upset No. 8 Virginia Tech (50-42) in triple overtime my senior year and I threw for a bunch of yards (403). All the games against Pitt are up there, too. Those were the most heavily spectated games involving my family and friends, I played well and we won three of those four games.My sophomore year, when we beat Pitt in overtime, (Pitt coach) Walt Harris sought me out and congratulated me after the game. Pitt stopped recruiting me after my senior year, so I remember that feeling.
How do you feel about the current state of Butler football?When I was in school at Syracuse, it was a sense of pride. In the locker room, guys were always talking about and asking how everyone’s high school team was doing.Once I was out of school, I didn’t worry about it so much, but you always want your high school to win games. I’m always checking the scores. I loved playing there and coaches (Sam) Albert and (Mark) Farabee were great coaches. They weren’t given enough time to turn things around.There is no quick fix. I hope they have the right coach in place. ... They need to give somebody a chance to do it.
Has Division I college football recruiting and rule-following gotten a little shaky over the years?It seems to have and it’s unfortunate, but you have to figure out where the blame should be placed.If a kid comes from nothing and is offered something, he’s going to take it. Is it the school’s responsibility to babysit 85 scholarship players on a team? The coaches should know what’s going on, though.
Did you witness any shady dealings during your time at Syracuse?My coach, Paul Pasqualoni, was so by the book, it was ridiculous. We weren’t even allowed facial hair. If your picture was going to be in the paper or on TV, you had to have your hair cut and it couldn’t be longer than shoulder length.You were allowed 20 hours of practice and we practiced 20 hours, exactly. You go to a restaurant, someone knows you and offers to pay for your meal, that happens everywhere.I appreciated coach Pasqualoni more than any human being I’ve met in my life outside of family. I got to go to school for free and play football. And I learned more about being a man from him than I ever could have imagined.
Was (former Syracuse teammate) Donovan McNabb given a fair shake in Philadelphia and how will he do in Minnesota?Donovan won a lot of big games in Philly. Unfortunately, he didn’t win the Super Bowl he was in and he lost a few NFC championship games. But he made around $70 million there, so I can’t say he wasn’t given a fair shake.This season in Minnesota is like a one-year tryout for him. They drafted a quarterback (Christian Ponder) No. 12 overall, so Donovan’s not the future there. He has a year to prove all of his doubters wrong and I think he’ll do just fine.
Do you still keep in touch with any high school teammates?Definitely, but from basketball more than football. Coach Farabee’s son (Jared) and I have also been close and I’m good friends with the Brough brothers. From basketball, Ralph Deabrunzzo, Austin McCarren, Aaron Epps and I are still close and I still play basketball with Jon McKay.
If you had it to do all over again, is there anything you would do differently as an athlete?I might have stuck with baseball longer. I used that season to run track, lift weights and get faster. Other than that, I was extremely blessed. I played in bowl games, played in front of 100,000 people a handful of times, I was on TV. ... I can’t complain about my athletic career.
Who’s the best football player you ever played against?Mike Vick at Virginia Tech. In person, at field level, he was even more exciting. That’s an easy answer for me.Reggie Wayne, Santana Moss, Ed Reed ... I played against all of those guys. Ed Reed returned an interception for a touchdown against me.
Do you ever plan to go into coaching?I was offered a job coming out of school and turned it down. I’m blessed to have a family. My wife and I have an 18-month-old son, Tavian, who I get to spend a couple of days with, all day, and we have a girl coming in November.Some of my coaches put in 14-hour days. I have a lot of respect for that, but it’s not for me.
You played a nice round of golf (1-over-par 71) at the Butler Eagle Amateur Open. Is that your sport of choice now?At the beginning of summer, I was playing once a week. Once the NFL lockout ended, work got busier and I was playing once every two weeks. Golf is definitely a passion of mine, something I really like to do.You don’t need 11 guys to get a game up. You can always go to the driving range or whatever. I hate to lose in anything. I’ll always be competitive. At the end of the day, if someone else has to buy the round of drinks, that works for me.
