The Roanoke Times

File 2007 Virginia Tech senior offensive guard Sergio Render will make the 40th start in his college career in Saturday's game against Alabama.

BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech star left guard Sergio Render confesses he's about as country as grits and gravy. He's proud of it, too.

Anybody got a problem with it? Don't think so.

"Yeah, he's real country, but you don't mess with Serge," right guard Jaymes Brooks said. "All I know is I want him on my side going into battle. Yes sir, meet him a dark alley somewhere, and he's my first-round pick."

Big "Serge" stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 313 pounds.

Off the field, he's a jokin' and funnin' teddy bear. On the field, he's plumb mean.

"I just love going out and putting people on their butt, hitting people hard and sticking them on their backs," Render said.

The big, ol' country boy from Newnan, Ga., has made a name for himself in his three years at Tech by planting defenders in the ground, amassing 130 "pancake" blocks. Think iHop doesn't love this guy?

Mel Kiper Jr. sure does. Since January, the noted NFL Draft analyst has had Render rated anywhere from first to fifth on his list of senior guards for next April's draft.

"It makes me feel good, but I try not to think about it because I'm more worried about this team -- and what I can do for this team now -- than in my future," Render said. "If I don't go out here and play and prove that I am, it doesn't mean nothing."

Avid outdoorsman

Sergio Orlando Render says he loves playing football. That said, he will tell you that he has even a stronger passion for other sporting activities -- hunting and fishing.

Since coming to Tech, Render has spent much of his free time in the nearby mountains hunting for deer and on the New River, where he loves to fish for smallmouth bass.

"I love the outdoors," Render said. "I grew up in Georgia fishing on lakes and ponds. But I'm kind of hooked on river fishing now because of the smallmouth bass.

"Cody Grimm [Hokies senior linebacker] is a pretty good fisherman. But after Cody, a lot of guys talk like they can, but they can't touch me in fishing."

Render said the largest smallmouth bass he's caught so far was 21-plus inches and weighed nearly six pounds.

"I mounted that one," said Render, flashing a huge grin. "The rest, most of the time I just kiss them and throw them back in the water."

Render said he got hooked on fishing when he was a kid, when he frequently accompanied his uncle, Charles Tenney, in the backwoods of Georgia.

"I remember sitting on woodpile like 70 yards in front of my uncle's house, where I would wait for the sound of his truck coming," Render said. "And before he could even get out of his truck, I would be at his door to go fishing or hunting. Every time I go back home, he's the first person I call."

Render attributed much of his brute strength -- his bench press of 480 pounds in his freshman year in 2006 remains a position record at Tech -- to his days of working on his grandfather's hog farm as a youngster.

Despite his size and strength, Render conceded he's no match for the black bears he's seen in the New River-area mountains while deer hunting.

"I saw one bear who weighed about 250 pounds," said Render, his eyes growing larger. "I was in like a tripod [tree stand]. The bear went around me sniffing and then it started up the ladder. Then I opened the window to shoot him and it took off running!

"I mean it didn't try to maul me or anything like that. I wasn't too worried because I had a weapon. But, I tell you, I was kind of scared because it was the first bear I had ever seen!"

Catching a whopper

Render says fishing is "95 percent luck and 5 percent skill."

Well, the Tech coaches will tell you they got lucky landing a guy who's been one of the team's primary parts since he stepped on campus.

Render, who had previously committed to Florida State, changed his mind when he came to Tech for a recruiting visit in the spring of 2006.

"I felt like I belonged more at Tech," Render said. "Plus, being a country boy who likes to hunt and fish, I loved it around here."

In an extreme rarity for an offensive lineman, Render started for the Hokies as a freshman in 2006. His 39 starts entering this season easily tops the roster. The next closest players in career starts are tight end Greg Boone (29) and free safety Kam Chancellor (28).

"Oh, Sergio has been huge for us ... a real constant," said offensive line coach Curt Newsome, who first season at Tech coincided with Render's freshman year.

"Not only does he love football, he's a guy who likes to practice. I like what he's all about on the field. He's a physical guy in the run game, a strong drive blocker.

"Now, I would like to see him sometimes focus a little more on his school work. He's definitely a country boy at heart. I think that's one of his problems with academics, he likes to fish more than he likes the classroom."

Render said he will need another 9-12 hours to graduate after the current semester.

Like many other college seniors looking at a pro football career, he will choose to train for the NFL combine in February and won't re-enroll in classes in January.

"I will get my degree, though," he said. "That will mean more to me in the long run than going pro or whatever."

Paying back

Render had an extremely troubled youth. His parents divorced, and during his middle-school years, he was a member of a street gang in Newnan. His aunt and uncle -- Kerri and Eric Geter -- rescued him from the streets, gave him a home, and rules and discipline to straighten out his life.

"I couldn't have done any of this without my auntie and uncle," Render said. "What a blessing they have been for me. Eight years ago, I would never have thought I would be playing football, going to college, or even getting a high school degree.

"If I do make the NFL, I'm going to do something for them. I would like to take care of adding on to their house or get them another one, and I would love to pay all the bills for them. They helped me make it to where I am now, and I love them to death."

Render said he's going to hate leaving Tech.

"College has been great," he said. "I love Virginia Tech, man, and I'll always come back and visit. You never know, I might move down here."

Render said money has never been important to him since he's never had much.

"It's going to be nice to have some money, but I just love football," he said. "I would rather play football than work in an office."

Render then stopped and started laughing.

"The only thing that would probably make me stop playing football is if I could fish or hunt for a living," he said. "You don't have to work out for that. Just eat a couple sandwiches, you know."

Now that's a real country boy.