Sergio Render helps Hokies’ running backs rack up yardage

BLACKSBURG — Judging from Sergio Render’s 6-foot-3, 313-pound frame, he’s eaten his share of deer meat over the years.

By his estimation, the Virginia Tech senior left guard and avid outdoorsman has bagged more than 150 of the animals since picking up hunting as a youngster. That’s a lot of deer burgers, steaks and roasts.

Soon, both of his passions will put dinner on the table.

For now, Render will rely heavily on his crossbows, rifles and fishing poles, but when the NFL comes calling in April, he can buy all the food he wants.

Not that he’d want to deviate from his culinary preferences. Deer roast is one of his favorites.

“You put the meat in a pot roast overnight with potatoes and carrots and just mix up a bunch of stuff and let it sit overnight,” Render said. “When you wake in the morning, it’s very tender for eating.”

When Render has free time, you know where to find him. He’s either in a deer stand or fishing for smallmouth bass on the New River.

You know where to find him on fall Saturdays, too.

Render has been a staple on Tech’s offense for four years, starting all but one of the team’s games during that time.

He leads all active ACC linemen with 46 starts, and he is expected to bump that up to 47 against Georgia Tech on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. Render, who grew up a duck call away in Newnan, Ga., expects to have a large group of family and friends on hand to cheer him on.

The charismatic and fun-loving Render — he recently used the words “big and sexy” to describe himself — was a projected first-round NFL draft pick in the preseason, but he took a step back on several mock draft boards after a rocky first few weeks.

In all fairness, he and the Hokies’ other interior linemen faced three of the best defensive tackles in the nation — Alabama’s Terrence Cody, Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh and Duke’s Vince Oghobaase — in the first month of the season.

Render turned things around with outstanding games against Duke and Boston College the last two weeks.

“I think he’s played very well. I think he’s a tough guy in there, and he’s played that way for the most part,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said.

Render graded out better than 84 percent the last two weeks, and he had a season-high six knockdown blocks Saturday against the Eagles in Tech’s resounding 48-14 victory.

Not long after helping the Hokies take out BC at Lane Stadium, Render was in a deer stand with his crossbow on a private spread in the nearby Ellett Valley.

“I got in the woods at about 5:10, and I shot my first deer at like 5:45,” Render said. “So yeah, it was a great day — we beat Boston College, then I killed a deer the same day, my first deer of the season.”

Render’s passion for hunting has put him in some precarious positions, none more dangerous than the day last year when he encountered a black bear climbing up the steps of his stand.

Render opened the door to shoot the bear, but it ran away. He said he hasn’t seen any bears since.

“Actually, they caught a black bear on video the other day in the stand I was hunting in,” Render said. “It was probably a record bear in Blacksburg. It was like 300, 350 pounds, so after I killed that deer (Saturday), I was waiting and hoping to see if the bear would come out, but he never made an appearance.”

Render says his hunting license allows him to kill deer, turkeys and bears. He wouldn’t kill a bear for food, though.

“I’ve never eaten a bear. I’ve never tried. I just wanted to make a rug out of a bear and get it fully mounted,” he said.

It’s that kind of moxie that makes Render such a tough customer on the football field.

Tech will need another strong performance from Render and his fellow linemen Saturday against the Yellow Jackets. Beamer said one of the keys to slowing Georgia Tech’s complicated option-based offense down is to keep it off the field.

That’s where the Hokies’ offense comes into play.

“That’s the main thing the coaches preach this week, just ball control,” Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. “Make sure you go out there and control the clock because they take a lot of time off the clock with the ball in their hands. And when we’re out there, we’re going to have to score points.”

Racking up points — it’s what Render loves to do, whether he’s shooting an 8-point buck or opening up a huge hole for one of Ryan Williams’ touchdown runs.

A perfect day for him, like Saturday, involves doing both.