Bond with Sanford lands JC All-American corner

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Dec. 20, 2004 | 9:05 a.m.

UNLV picked up three more recruiting commitments over the weekend including a key one from JC All-American cornerback John Guice of Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif.

A 5-foot-9, 180-pounder, Guice picked the Rebels over Boise State, which he visited this weekend. He will enroll in January and partcipate in spring football drills.

"I haven't called to let the coaches know yet," Guice said Sunday night. "The main reason I picked UNLV was because of coach (Mike) Sanford. He had been recruiting me since the summer when he was at Utah and we've really bonded."

Guice had 55 tackles and seven interceptions for an 11-1 Grossmont squad en route to first-team JC Grid-Wire All-American honors. He played his high school football at Creekside High School in Atlanta where he also starred in track, finishing third in the state 100-meter final to current Green Bay Packers defensive back Ahmad Carroll despite running a blistering 10.5 seconds in the race.

Guice was recruited by Louisville and Clemson out of high school but ended up signing with Tennessee Tech because he was a late qualifier.

"He's got good ball sense," Dick Lascola of the Fallbrook, Calif.-based Scouting Evaluation Association said. "He breaks very well to the ball. He's a good pressure corner."

The Rebels also picked up some immediate mid-year help on the defensive line when former Las Vegas High School star Jacob Hales (6-5, 275) picked UNLV over BYU.

Hales returned in October from a two-year LDS Church mission in Houston. He starred for current Rebels assistant Kris Cinkovich at Las Vegas High in 1999 and 2000.

"I had a wonderful trip to UNLV this weekend," Hales said. "I felt the coaches there are great, honest coaches with a lot of fire to try and build UNLV into a big-time program. And that's what I want. And coach Cinkovich is there now. He's a heckuva person. I'd follow him anywhere."

The third player to commit to UNLV was Culver City (Calif.) High School defensive back Daryl Forte (5-11, 175).

Forte was a first-team all-Ocean League selection after making 91 tackles and intercepting five passes for the 8-2 Centaurs. His coach, Tom Salter, compares Forte favorably with a couple of corners he coached at famed Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, Calif. --- Daylon McCutcheon, who starred at USC and is now with the Cleveland Browns, and Ralph Brown III, who started at Nebraska and also went on to play in the NFL.