Reaping What He Sowed

Cavs' Peerman Learned Work Ethic on Father's Farm

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Sept. 18 -- There is a patch of land in Gladys, Va., that was once a tobacco farm, before all the nearby markets shut down, before Samuel Peerman had his stroke six years ago and then, last summer, died. Only grass grows there now.

Cedric Peerman, Samuel's grandson, grew up on that farm in Gladys. He rode tractors when he was 8 and harvested tobacco through high school. The farm is fallow now, but its lessons remain with Peerman.

"If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't be here," Peerman said. "It disciplined me."

Peerman has come a long way from Gladys, a rural town in southern Virginia with a population of roughly 4,100. After waiting for three years, Peerman has asserted himself as Virginia's featured running back while providing an identity to an offense that desperately needed one. Against North Carolina last Saturday, Peerman rushed 30 times for 186 yards, becoming the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading rusher at 113.7 yards per game.

"He really just decided, 'I'm going to take control of this offense,' " defensive end Chris Long said. "He's really just brought a new level of energy. After a big run, he looks at the sideline and just energizes guys."

Peerman, a junior, had never carried the ball 30 times before, not even in high school. Still, when he woke up on Sunday, he said, "I could have played that day if I had to."

Of course he could have. There was always work to do growing up for Peerman, and football never changed that. His family harvested tobacco during the fall, in the middle of the football season. Peerman would play his games at William Campbell High, starting on offense and defense for four seasons, on Friday nights. Then he would wake up Saturday at dawn and load 150-pound tobacco sacks onto a Ford pickup truck.

From his childhood, Peerman always wanted to help lift the sacks, because that's what the adults did. "I always wanted to do jobs that were bigger," Peerman said. So he would grab on the 150-pound bag and yank as hard as he could.

The muscle he packed on then shows today on his 5-foot-10, 208-pound frame, in his bulging shoulders and his punishing running style. He finished most of his runs Saturday with his legs churning and several North Carolina tacklers clinging to his body.

Peerman expected to do this from the moment he arrived here. He is one of only two scholarship players (tight end John Phillips is the other) at Virginia who played high school football in Class A, the smallest classification in Virginia. That never mattered to Peerman.

"I felt like I had enough ability to be able to play and actually do well," Peerman said. "I've always had that confidence in myself."

But Peerman had to watch as a procession of running backs, from Wali Lundy to Jason Snelling, received their turn. During his freshman and sophomore years, he returned kickoffs and averaged 26.5 yards. He carried the ball at running back 116 times in his first two seasons.