Howard Langley saw something special in Edward Nunez very early on and was never given a reason not to think otherwise. It was just a matter of the DeWitt Clinton coach convincing college coaches of exactly what he already knew from late in Nunez’s freshman year.
“We started giving him the football and saw he ran with the stout that he does and reckless abandon,” Langley said. “We threw him out on defense and he was knocking heads and we were like, ‘Oh this kid is the real deal.’”
The suitors came slowly with only American International, a Division II school, having offered until Nunez got the break he was looking for from Wagner College, which finally bought in just two weeks ago. Nunez committed to play linebacker there during his official visit and signed a National Letter of Intent with the Seahawks on Jan. 3. New Haven and Stony Brook also showed interest.
“I was a little nervous and at the same time I wasn’t because there were schools talking to me during the season. At the end of the season they wanted me to walk on. That was disappointing. Then Wagner came and that was it. I knew Wagner was going to be the one.”
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Nunez felt he made good on the faith Langley and he put in each other. The coach came back for an 11th season before retiring to see him through to college because of the amount of work Nunez put in during his four years at Clinton. He led the Governors to a semifinal appearance as a junior and carried this year’s young team to a playoff berth.
“It meant a lot because Langley is a great coach,” Nunez said. He guided me through my four years of high school and I would do anything to help that man.”
What he did was set and example for his teammate and helped Clinton win a lot of game. Langley said Nunez would have been the best player on the team as a sophomore, before losing to the entire season to injury. He more than made up for the lost time.
“He just did everything right,” Langley said.
The All-Bronx First Team selection by the Bronx Times carried the ball 126 times for 1,121 years and 18 touchdowns as a senior. Nunez, who often carried defenders along with him, also ran for nine two-point conversions. He made 65 tackles and recorded two a sacks on defense. All of Nunez’s hard work paid off.
“It’s like a play. You draw it up and the kid followed the script to a tee,” Langley said. “He deserved every moment of everything that is coming to him. It was a perfect culmination.”
