After performing aggressive chores growing up on Virginia farms, FIU’s Peace now protecting QBs

Growing up in rural Berryville, Virginia – population now up to 4,185 – Jacob Peace worked on a lot of farms, and he’s had to slaughter some animals along the way, sometimes because they were sick.

“We’d use a gun that shoots a three-inch nail because that’s the most quick and painless way to do it,” said Peace, who also mowed lawns and did whatever was needed on farms.

“(Slaughtering animals) was not my favorite thing to do, but if it’s got to be done, it’s got to be done.”

These days, the 22-year-old Peace isn’t doing anything nearly as violent. In fact, he’s in the violence-prevention business because he serves as an offensive lineman on the FIU football team.

Peace, who is a giant of a man at 6-6 and 315 pounds, said his top priority is to protect his quarterback.

“I love my quarterbacks – I always have, and I always will,” Peace said. “If you give up a sack, you’re not only hurting your team, you are directly hurting your quarterback, your friend.

“I’m protecting for him as hard as I would for any other person in my family. It’s as if that’s my sister back there at quarterback, and I’m not letting anybody touch her.”

That’s got to be comforting for Gunnar Holmberg, Grayson James and Haden Carlson, the three quarterbacks battling to become FIU’s starting quarterback this fall.

Peace is a graduate transfer from Virginia Military Institute, an FCS school. He played four years there, and he is now running with the first team at guard and tackle for FIU.

“The (first-team) reps Jacob is getting, he has earned,” FIU offensive line coach Greg Austin said. “He is playing multiple positions – damn near everywhere except center.”

Peace, who arrived at FIU from VMI this summer, has quickly impressed among the 18 offensive linemen on the roster.

“He’s been a great addition,” FIU offensive coordinator David Yost said. “We want to play our five best blockers. If that’s four guards and a tackle, guess what? Somebody better learn how to snap the ball.

“What our offensive line can do well is what we’re going to do as an offense. It’s not five guys, it’s one position. That’s what we’re working toward. It’s the o-line. They work together, just like a fist.”

Peace, who earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from VMI, is studying for his Master’s in FIU in a completely different field: hospitality management.

The logic, Peace said, is that he already has what he needs to become a teacher and coach. The hospitality degree will give him more job possibilities.

But that’s the future. For now, Peace is making the transition from the country life to big-city Miami.

FIU offensive coordinator breaks down his unit’s camp standouts

“It helps that my girlfriend is here with me,” Peace said of Mychayla, who works for Navy Federal.

Peace also has to adjust to Miami’s heat and humidity and to a higher level of football from FCS to FBS.

So far, though, Peace has handled every task, just like he used to on the farms of Berryville.

Austin said Peace has been the “consummate” professional.

“Jacob played a lot of ball before he got here – there’s a maturity about him,” Austin said. “He has taken well to the techniques we’re trying to teach him.

“He has earned the respect and trust of the guys in the room, and he’s becoming a little more vocal.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Wide receiver Tyrese Chambers, who set FIU records last year for reception yards (1,074) and reception touchdowns (nine), told The Herald on Friday that he should return from a left-ankle injury next week. Chambers said he is out of a walking boot, and he added that he was pleased that his fellow receivers are getting more reps while he is out.

▪ When asked about center, Austin first mentioned fourth-year veteran Julius Pierce. The next name Austin mentioned was John Bock II, a true freshman who played last season at Cardinal Gibbons and has been one of the biggest surprises of camp.