UNLV guard earns farm award

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Aug. 27, 1998 | 11 a.m.

UNLV's season-opener at Northwestern still is eight days away but the Rebels already have had one player earn All-American honors.

Guard Jerald Pierucci, a 6-5, 305-pound senior from Shafter, Calif., has been named to the 1998 All-American Farm Football Team, as selected by Successful Farming magazine in its Sept. 1 issue.

Pierucci, who has bounced back from major knee surgery and will be starting for the fourth straight year on the offensive line, had a $500 scholarship donated to UNLV's general scholarship fund in his name.

"It was kind of a surprise when I got it," Pierucci said. "It's a good honor. It's something that allows even some players from smaller schools to get recognized for doing a good job."

Pierucci's parents, Roy and Gail Pierucci, own 1,500 acres of farmland just outside the Central California town of Bakersfield. And Jerald and younger brother Jerrad, a junior linebacker on the Rebel football team, spent many a hot and dusty day working on that farm.

"Cotton is one of our main crops," Jerald said. "We also grow grapes, almonds and carrots."

A typical day on the Pierucci farm usually started around 6 a.m. and ended sometimes at dusk.

"You would try and get up and get going before it got really hot," Pierucci said.

What kind of chores did he have?

"One of the toughest is moving the sprinkler pipes," he said. "They run all night. So you're hip-deep in cotton and shin-deep in the mud. You have to pick up the pipes, which are usually full of water, walk them over about 15 rows of crops, drop them, re-attach them and then hook them all back up.

"It's tough work. But I've also had my share of cake jobs where I'm just sitting in a tractor with the radio blasting."

UNLV coach Jeff Horton has a memento in his office from his awarding Pierucci a scholarship ... a bale of cotton from the Pierucci farm.

"They sent me this after I signed Jerald," Horton said. "I've kept it here ever since."

Despite his farm roots, Pierucci is anything but a small-town hick.

"I don't walk around with a piece of straw in my mouth or with a straw hat on my head or anything like that," he said.

"It's not like Green Acres," Horton added. "He's more the Urban Cowboy type. He's already graduated and he's going for his Masters (in education)."

Pierucci's strong work ethic has carried over from farming to the football field.

Pierucci started 30 consecutive games for the Rebels before tearing the MCL in his left knee in an Oct. 18 loss to San Diego State. But thanks to hard rehab work, he's back in the starting lineup and, he says, feels better than ever.

"I heard a pop that I swore everybody in the stadium could hear," Pierucci recalled. "I was pass blocking and a linebacker and a defensive end both caved in my knee from outside. That's 600 pounds. I didn't really have a chance."

Nine months later, he's a first-team All-American Farm Football choice.

"My father subscribes to that magazine, too," Pierucci said. "It's nice to be noticed."

REBEL NOTES: Those who attended UNLV's scrimmage at Virgin Valley High School in Mesquite last Saturday wouldn't have recognized the offense that performed in a 30-play controlled scrimmage Wednesday afternoon at Rebel Park. Quarterback Kevin Crook and all-WAC split end Damon Williams connected for a 60-yard touchdown pass against the No. 2 defense. And although the second-team offense, quarterbacked by Chris Hayward, didn't score, it did move the ball effectively at times against the No. 1 defense. ... The Rebels will practice twice today and Friday before taking the weekend off and beginning game-week preparations for Northwestern on Monday.

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