Silent treatment not a bad thing for UNLV safety De Giacomo

By Ryan Greene

Friday, Aug. 13, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.

ELY — If there's one member of Bobby Hauck's UNLV coaching staff whose voice can be heard from just about anywhere on the practice field, it's defensive backs coach J.D. Williams.

And if there's one guy Williams is rarely heard barking at, it's senior safety Alex De Giacomo.

The examples he is setting during fall camp for the younger defensive backs are good ones to follow, but what he has is hard to teach.

"You tell the kids, 'Hey, the only motivation worth a crap is self-motivation,'" Williams said. "He comes out, gets himself going and gets others going, so it's a joy to have him out here."

Williams, like the rest of the staff, had to get a feel for his inherited corps upon arriving in January.

The six-year NFL veteran said that it took him one practice to realized that De Giacomo was the alpha dog, so to speak, of his pupils.

"It helps a great deal, because the young guys look to him," he added. "He's a leader. Hopefully, they try to emulate."

The respect is mutual, as De Giacomo detected early that Williams didn't just yell at his players for the sake of yelling.

"I just love his intensity. He knows the game really well. He had experience playing in the NFL," De Giacomo said of Williams. "He makes us learn. He makes sure every last defensive back knows what his job is. He makes us understand everything."

When Williams says that the Westminster, Calif., native is a leader, it is by example.

He has displayed that so far in two full-pad practices in Ely, driving teammates to the ground and constantly going full-speed during contact drills.

"They want me to be a leader, and I'm not a really vocal guy, but I always try to lead by example, do everything right, whatever it is," De Giacomo said. "I was really shy (as a kid), so I guess (football) changed me into a different person.

"When I started playing in eighth grade, I just started by hitting a lot and liked it."

Another reason Williams is hoping that some of what De Giacomo has rubs off on his younger players is that he was a rare bright spot last year in a secondary that struggled consistently, as UNLV ranked 86th out of 120 FBS squads in pass defense a year ago.

In his first season at UNLV after transferring from El Camino College, De Giacomo ranked fifth on the team with 60 tackles to go with one interception and one forced fumble. Those numbers could have been even more inflated, but the brunt of his time on the field didn't come until the season's second half.

He also established himself as the Rebel secondary's biggest hitter — a mythical title that he still holds heading into 2010.

Equally important is that De Giacomo's impressive plays during fall camp haven't just come with the pads on. Combining this week with last week's non-contact practices out at Rebel Park, he has by far been UNLV's most steady defensive back, also proving to be a consistent ball hawk.

"I've done OK so far. There's still a lot more to go," he added. "The season will be the biggest test for me. But my confidence is definitely built up a lot."

Scrappy, scrappy

During Thursday's afternoon full-pad practice in Ely, a brief dust-up occurred between redshirt freshman defensive back Courtney Bridget and sophomore receiver Aaron Reed.

While working on a full-contact sideline drill, the two got tangled up and continued to scrap with each other for a few extra moments. Words were also exchanged.

Several teammates jumped in to break it up.

Instead of punishing the duo, though, Williams ordered the two back into the gauntlet to square off for another rep. And then another.

It was an intriguing approach by Williams and the nearby coaches as emotions boiled over for a moment, as the two went hard at each other on the two subsequent reps and then cooled off.

"Every situation's different," Hauck said. "If it's just kind of a clean play and guys are getting after each other ... It's a combative sport. It's not for everybody. You have to be an aggressive, combative individual to play it, so we don't want to temper that too much."

It was a testament to the attitude the new staff is trying to instill in its players across the board.

"Certainly, I think it's easier to pull a dog out of a fight than to push him into it. That's kind of where we're coming from," Hauck added. "I think if you asked a bunch of different coaches, they'd have different takes on it. We'd like our guys to be aggressive."

Plays of the day

On defense, it came during an 11-on-11 drill late in the afternoon session, as senior safety Travis Dixon shot from out of nowhere to pick off a pass at the goal line, then returned it for roughly 30 yards before getting tripped up.

Dixon almost doubled his highlight resumé with another pick two plays later but dropped the ball.

Later on, the offensive highlight was delivered when senior quarterback Omar Clayton rolled left for as long as he could before firing a 15-yard pass to freshman wideout Marcus Sullivan, who was streaking across quickly and made the catch for a score.

Sullivan, a speedy Cheyenne High grad who grayshirted last season, made another impressive toe-tapping sideline grab moments earlier.

Injury updates

For the first time this fall, sophomore receiver Mark Barefield shed his blue No. 80 jersey and was a full participant in the afternoon practice, looking impressive right from go. The Willis Point, Texas, product who caught just three balls for 26 yards in 12 games played as a freshman is expected to make a major leap in terms of production in 2010.

Held out of the afternoon practice was junior linebacker Nate Carter, who was a bit under the weather and needed to restore some fluids.

Knocked out mid-way through the full-pad run was redshirt freshman safety John Therrell. He shed his pads after leaving and watched the rest of practice from the sidelines, complaining of a significant headache.

Donning a cast on his forearm was senior linebacker Starr Fuimaono, who hurt his hand during Wednesday's evening practice. Fuimaono registered 67 tackles and 4.5 stops for loss last season and was granted an extra year of eligibility for 2010, as his sophomore and junior seasons were both cut short due to injury. He did return to practice on Thursday night and went full-speed and full-contact.

More mention for Payne

Junior receiver Phillip Payne, who earlier this month was named to the preseason All-Mountain West Conference team, was named as one of 51 members of the watch list for the 2010 Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the nation's top wideout.

Payne caught 58 passes for 661 yards in 2009, and has 14 touchdown catches in 21 career games.

The winner of the Biletnikoff Award will be announced on ESPN on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 9. The award will be officially presented to the winner at the annual Biletnikoff Award Presentation Banquet on Feb. 11, 2011.