Alec Pierce (born May 2, 2000) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cincinnati before the Colts selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.
.jpg) Pierce playing for the Colts in 2022 | |||||||||
| No. 14 – Indianapolis Colts | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | May 2, 2000 Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Illinois) | ||||||||
| College: | Cincinnati (2018–2021) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022 / round: 2 / pick: 53 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024 | |||||||||
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Early life
editPierce grew up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois and attended Glenbard West High School, where he played football, volleyball, basketball and ran track.[1] His father, Greg Pierce, was a former tight end who played collegiately at Northwestern University.[2]
As a senior, Alec caught 25 passes for 372 yards and five touchdowns with three sacks and four interceptions on defense and was named the Most Valuable Player of the West Suburban Conference Silver Division.[3] Pierce was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Cincinnati over scholarship offers from 17 other programs.[4]
College career
editPierce played mostly on special teams as a true freshman.[5] He practiced at linebacker ahead of the team's appearance in the Military Bowl but ultimately did not play at that position.[6][7] As a sophomore Pierce caught 37 passes for a team-high 652 yards and two touchdowns.[8] He missed four games of his junior season due to a knee injury and finished the year with 17 receptions for 315 yards and three touchdowns.[9][10] As a senior, Pierce caught 52 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns and was named second-team All-American Athletic Conference.[11][12]
Statistics
edit| Season | Team | GP | Receiving | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |||
| 2018 | Cincinnati | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Cincinnati | 12 | 37 | 652 | 17.6 | 52 | 2 |
| 2020 | Cincinnati | 6 | 17 | 315 | 18.5 | 45 | 3 |
| 2021 | Cincinnati | 14 | 52 | 884 | 17.0 | 53 | 8 |
| Career | 36 | 106 | 1,851 | 17.5 | 53 | 13 | |
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+1⁄8 in (1.91 m) |
211 lb (96 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) |
4.41 s | 1.46 s | 2.48 s | 4.20 s | 7.13 s | 40.5 in (1.03 m) |
10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) | ||
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[13][14] | ||||||||||||
Pierce was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round with the 53rd overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.[15][16] On October 16, Pierce caught his first career touchdown in the Week 6 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.[17] The Colts won the game 34–27.[18] Pierce posted his best NFL game on NBC Sunday Night Football, notching team-highs in catches (four) and receiving yards (86) while adding his second-career touchdown. He finished his rookie season with 41 receptions for 593 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[19]
In Week 14 of the 2023 season against the Tennessee Titans, Pierce enjoyed his first career 100–yard game. He opened the game with a 36-yard touchdown on Indianapolis' first possession, and finished with 100 yards and a touchdown on six receptions.[20] He finished the season as the Colts third-leading receiver with 32 catches for 514 yards and two touchdowns.[21][22]
NFL career statistics
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2022 | IND | 16 | 12 | 78 | 41 | 593 | 14.5 | 47 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | IND | 17 | 16 | 65 | 32 | 514 | 16.1 | 58 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | IND | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 181 | 22.6 | 60 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 35 | 30 | 153 | 81 | 1,288 | 15.9 | 60 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ Stone, Bill (May 29, 2018). "Boys Track and Field: Alec Pierce's debut in track helps lead Hilltoppers to ninth at state". ShawLocal.com. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Atkins, Nate (August 15, 2023). "How Anthony Richardson and Alec Pierce Are Working on Their Deep-Ball Connection". IndyStar.com. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
- ^ Narang, Bob (December 13, 2017). "Football: Glenbard West WR Alec Pierce commits to Cincinnati". ShawLocal.com. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ O'Halloran, Tim (December 12, 2017). "Recruiting news and notes: Glenbard West WR commits to Cincinnati". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Williams, Justin (August 21, 2019). "UC position outlook: Seeking answers at receiver, Alec Pierce has arrived". The Athletic. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Schultz, Spencer (October 1, 2019). "UC football: Pierce developing into go-to receiver". The News Record. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Schmit, Kevin (May 27, 2020). "Pierce family's competitive nature runs deep". Daily Herald. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ "Cincinnati WR Alec Pierce looks to 'take more of a role' following bout with COVID-19". Cincinnati Enquirer. September 8, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (September 22, 2020). "Cincinnati Bearcats receiver Alec Pierce out several weeks with knee injury". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Williams, Justin (September 21, 2021). "Cincinnati's slow start, Alec Pierce's impact, return of 'Blackcats,' other takeaways from win over Indiana". The Athletic. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Heltman, Russ (January 9, 2022). "Alec Pierce Announces he is Entering 2022 NFL Draft". SI.com. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ Heltman, Russ (December 1, 2021). "UC Dominates All-AAC Selections". SI.com. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
- ^ "Alec Pierce Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ "Alec Pierce, Cincinnati, WR, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ "2022 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
- ^ Stankevitz, JJ (April 29, 2022). "NFL Draft 2022: Colts Select Cincinnati Wide Receiver Alec Pierce With No. 53 Overall Pick". Colts.com. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ Heltman, Russ (October 16, 2022). "Watch: Alec Pierce Scores Game-Winning TD Against Jaguars". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts – October 16th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ "Alec Pierce 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ Moore, Raven (December 4, 2023). "Why Wide receiver Alec Pierce's 100-yard receiving game against Titans was a testament to the importance of patience". Colts.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ^ "Alec Pierce 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ^ "2023 Indianapolis Colts Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
Additional reading
edit- Andrew Moore, "Alec Pierce: Indianapolis Colts Rookie Files," Horseshoe Huddle, August 30, 2022.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · Yahoo! Sports
- Indianapolis Colts bio
- Cincinnati Bearcats bio