Forget about “The Refrigerator” – Reny Nunes is a whole house.
At 517 pounds, the 6-foot-8 Nunes is one of the biggest kids ever to play high-school football.
He’s also the reason why the Roselle Park Panthers are off to a 5-1 start – and why the TV cameras and college scouts are buzzing around the school’s northern New Jersey campus.
The big man plays nose guard and in one game, he used his massive forearms to swat away opposing players.
Nunes, a soft-spoken 17-year-old senior, wears a size 17 shoe, a 6X jersey and size 60 pants.
He hopes to win a college scholarship and play in the NFL, although he admits he needs to shed at least 100 pounds to have a chance. His parents plan to hire a personal trainer.
“Hopefully it’ll help me lose weight,” said Nunes, who’s been tutored by former Giants guard Billy Ard and ex-Los Angeles Rams guard Keith Lonecker, a Roselle Park alumnus.
Several colleges – Syracuse, Maryland, Louisville and Kentucky among them – have sent scouts to watch Nunes, but none has offered him a scholarship.
To give you an idea of Nunes’ size, the heaviest player in the NFL is Detroit Lions tackle Aaron Gibson. But he weighs a mere 380 pounds and is half a foot shorter than Nunes.
The most famous big man in pro football was Super Bowl hero William “Refrigerator” Perry of the Chicago Bears, whose weight fluctuated between 330 and 400 pounds.
Nunes weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces and was 22 inches long at birth. By fourth grade, he was 180 pounds and 5-foot-6.