Pilarowski finally makes the weight

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Aug. 14, 1998 | 10:28 a.m.

It took him a couple years longer than he had hoped, but former Silverado High offensive lineman Glenn Pilarowski finally finds himself wearing the Scarlet and Gray uniform of UNLV.

Pilarowski, a former state heavyweight wrestling champion who went on to earn junior college All-American honors at Dixie College in St. George, Utah last season, might have been a Rebel two years earlier if not for a small problem.

He was too small.

"He weighed around 240 pounds then," UNLV coach Jeff Horton said. "And we try not to sign an offensive lineman who weighs under 270 pounds."

But two years, two inches and 80 pounds later, the 6-5, 320-pound Pilarowski has no problems "meating" Horton's beefy criteria.

"He needs to play for us this year," Horton said. "That's why we brought him in. He has a good opportunity to start for us."

Sophomore John Greer, who started last season at right tackle, has been switched to left tackle to better protect quarterback Kevin Crook's blindside. That opens up the starting right tackle spot for Pilarowski and Brian Hart, a highly-touted redshirt freshman from Fountain Valley, Calif.

"I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to go out and prove myself," Pilarowski said. "They told me the opportunity is there to start. Now I have to go out and make the most of it."

Pilarowski, who was a member of Silverado's first varsity squad and won just one high school game in his two years there, didn't take long to beef up at Dixie College.

"I really don't know how I did it," he said. "I worked out a lot in the weight room, but it wasn't like I was up there eating all the time.

"I was 6-3 and 240 my senior year at Silverado. I grew a couple inches and weighed 290 my freshman year at Dixie. Then I added another 20 pounds before my sophomore year. And then I added about 10 more pounds since I got here."

All of which made him much more attractive in the eyes of Horton and company, who beat out schools like BYU, Iowa State and Kansas State for his services.

"It feels good to be back home and close to my family again," Pilarowski said. "Coach Horton stuck by me all these years. It's great to finally get my chance to play here now."

Born to run

Freshman running back Joe Haro was one of the top prospects in New Jersey last year with schools like Virginia, Indiana and Syracuse among those showing strong interest in the first-team all-state pick.

So how did Haro find his way out west to Las Vegas?

Turns out Haro's high school coach, Jim Kelly, was vacationing with his wife at the MGM Grand the spring before Haro's senior year and decided to stop by and watch UNLV's spring practices. He also dropped off a copy of a tape of Haro in action.

The Rebels liked what they saw and heavily recruited Haro, who rushed for 1,455 yards and 21 touchdowns his senior year. Still, with Big Ten and ACC schools involved, it was far from a slam dunk for UNLV.

"I almost didn't visit here," Haro said. "It was my last (recruiting) trip and I was kind of getting tired of the whole thing. But my high school coach (Kelly) pursuaded me to come out and the rest is history. This place just felt like home to me."

Haro, who has been timed at 10.8 for 100 meters and 21.7 in the 200, will likely redshirt this year.

* REBELS NOTES: Freshman offensive lineman Tony Terrell (6-3, 280) of Hawthorne, Calif., High School got the thumbs up from the NCAA Clearinghouse on Thursday and will likely join the team in Mesquite on Sunday. Terrell, who has a learning disability, had to receive special clearance from the NCAA eligibility committee because he took an untimed SAT test orally. ... With Terrell now officially qualified, it means all 21 of UNLV's freshmen recruits met minimum NCAA eligibility requirements. ... Freshman offensive guard Allen Williams (6-5, 280) of Ft. Worth, Texas has been practicing with a cast on right arm. "He broke his wrist in February and had it operated on," Horton said. "It wasn't healing right, so they had to operate on it again in June. It'll probably be a while before he can have contact." ... Veteran (upper class) squad members reported to school Thursday night. The entire squad buses up to Mesquite this afternoon for 10 days of two-a-day workouts beginning Saturday morning at Virgin Valley High School.