Behind-the-scenes Furio wins Wiesner recognition

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003 | 9:31 a.m.

Dominic Furio does a lot of the dirty work for the UNLV Rebels.

A 6-foot-2, 285-pound senior center from San Pedro, Calif., Furio makes the blocking calls for his fellow offensive line mates. Then he usually finds himself having to go head-to-head against a 300-pound plus nose guard. He usually doesn't get his name mentioned on TV unless there is a bad snap or he gets caught holding.

Except for his coaches and teammates, Furio's blood, sweat and tears normally receive little fanfare. Until Monday that is.

Furio was officially named the second recipient of the annual Tom Wiesner Memorial Jersey at the weekly UNLV Rebel Quarterback Club Luncheon at the Si Redd Room at the Thomas & Mack Center. Furio follows in the footsteps of offensive guard Tony Terrell and will wear a special jersey this season that includes a patch honoring Wiesner.

The award, which is voted on by players and coaches, goes to the player who best exemplifies the courage, enthusiasm, dedication and toughness of Wiesner, a three-year letterman at the University of Wisconsin who is also a member of the UNLV Athletic Hall of Fame for his numerous contributions to the school. He died last year at the age of 63 after a battle with Leukemia.

"He was a tough guy, a smart guy and a generous guy," UNLV coach John Robinson said. "All the things that make a man's man."

Furio, who learned of the honor after practice last week, said he was "humbled" to win the award.

"It's a great honor because it's voted on by your teammates," Furio said. "Respect from my peers means everything to me. I was just very humbled when I found out."

Furio said he only met Wiesner once.

"I was formally introduced but never had a conversation with him," Furio said. "I just heard about all the great things that Coach Robinson said about him."

Robinson said Furio fits the bill of the kind of player the award was instituted for.

"He's such a great guy," Robinson said. "He's hard-working and not the most skilled guy but he's a leader and a tough guy. He's a guy we all admire."

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Steichen, who was the Sacramento Bee's area MVP in 2002 after leading Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills to a CIF Section title, has a strong arm and quick release and has been very accurate since his arrival.

"He's done a great job," quarterbacks coach Vince Alcalde said. "We didn't expect him to come right in and be in the mix but he's performed very well and picked up everything very fast."

Barring a major injury to Nantkes, however, he'll likely redshirt.

"Right now the situation is we're going to wait and see," Alcalde said. "He's got a couple of games before we have to declare whether he's going to redshirt or not. We'll make that decision when we have to."

Eagen has been sidelined over a week with a high ankle injury and didn't return to practice as expected on Sunday night.

"I don't know about this one," Robinson said. "It's more up in here (near the shin). Once the pain goes he'll be ready to play. Ankles sometimes can kind of linger. I'd like to see some improvement (tonight). My guess is he would play a limited amount (against Toledo)."

Sophomore Leon Moore of Rancho High School backs up Eagen.

Nine freshman football players reportedly were among the approximately 500 students on campus who used the code from a campus dormitory.

"We will probably have an announcement this week or next," Robinson said. "We may have a couple of suspensions for one game."

NCAA rules mandate an automatic one-game suspension for anyone who ran up phone tabs of $100 or more illegally.