SRJC linebacker Jarred Pereira is 6-foot, 245 pounds, runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash, has a 32-inch vertical leap and can bench press 450 pounds.

He ranks third in the state in tackles with 12.3 a game and is basically one scary dude, at least on a football field.

But in talking to Pereira for a feature story on him this week, I discovered he wasn’t always quite so ferocious.

A weight-room junkie ” he holds the SRJC record in the bench press and squat for linebackers ” he used to cower when his older brother, Adam, a fullback at Vintage, used to encourage him, somewhat forcefully, to lift weights.

“My brother used to yell at me,” Pereira said. “I’d be hiding in the corner because I was freshman and I wasn’t as strong as the seniors, obviously. I kind of shied away from it.”