HAMPDEN – The buzz around Hampden Academy’s preseason football camp this fall has centered around the emphasis on incorporating a legtimate passing game.

New head coach John Sparacio has a long-range plan for his program, so he warns fans not to get overly excited early, but it’s easy to see why he’s optimistic.

For one thing, he has a new volunteer assistant coach who has a unique pigskin pedigree.

Meet Phoenix, Ariz., native Greg Tunney, Hampden’s volunteer tight ends-receivers-running backs coach and former scholarship player and wide receiver for one of the country’s most prolific passing offenses.

“I’m not that interesting. Believe me,” said Tunney with a chuckle.

Well, maybe not to someone who doesn’t know a running back from a defensive back, but he’s a source of fascination if you’re a college football fan.

You see, Tunney played his college ball for Lavell Edwards’ pass-happy program at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, from 1982-85. If that wasn’t enough to impress, consider that the man throwing perfect spirals in Tunney’s direction for his first full season was college and NFL star quarterback Steve Young.

“To be honest, I always wanted to play for Arizona State, but BYU had become such a pass-oriented school,” anyone who was a receiver or quarterback wanted to go there,” said Tunney, who switched from quarterback to wide receiver his senior year at the suggestion of his high school coach.

“He said if I wanted to play big-time college ball, it wouldn’t be as a quarterback,” the 41-year-old Tunney recalled.

So he earned second team all-state honors at now-defunct West Phoenix High and headed off to Provo after being offered scholarships by BYU, Arizona State, and California Lutheran.

His time as a Cougar wasn’t exactly storybook material as, after a promising sophomore season, he tore his anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate, and meniscus ligaments and missed most of the 1984 season.

“Yeah, that was great, watching all that from a hospital bed,” said Tunney, who never received a championship ring because players had to play in at least six games to qualify.

Besides playing for Edwards, who is credited with helping to revolutionize the college game, Tunney also was around coaching luminaries like current Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who was BYU’s offensive coordinator, and Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, who was Cougars’ running backs coach.

Tunney’s teammates included college standouts and NFL veterans Lee Johnson (punter), Kurt Gouveia (linebacker), and Glen Kozlowski (wide receiver). He also played against Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker in 1982.

Tunney is the president and chief operations officer for Phoenix Footwear, the company that bought Penobscot Shoe in Old Town and consolidated its operations with another shoe company it bought in Leominster, Mass. The new company is headquartered in Old Town. This is his first coaching job.

“I’ve never even coached any of my kids before,” said Tunney, who moved to Hampden in July of 1991 with wife Heidi, sons Clayton (15), Chandler (10) and Carson (7) and daughter Kaitlin (13).

Clayton is a sophomore on the varsity football team.

“I’m having fun,” said Tunney. “This is a release. I come home after work and lose myself in this.”

Shooting showcases

Maine high school basketball players will have chances to showcase their skills on a statewide level as Maine Basketball Report (MBR) has three exhibition/evaluation camps scheduled for September and November.

The first two are Saturday and Sunday in Brunswick. Saturday’s showcase is limited to 60 players who can only be high school freshman, sophomores, or juniors. Players will be evaluated by MBR staff members, who will give them written reports. They will also learn how to get their names, contact information, and skill reviews forwarded to New England college coaches.

Sunday’s event is open to 60 players who must be sophomore, juniors or seniors. These players will be seen by college coaches in attendance. The second annual showcase last year drew 35 college coaches.

For more information, contact Tom Nolette at 926-5218, fax him at 926-5313, or e-mail him at mbr@maine.rr.com.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600, or ANeff@bangordailynews.net