Bernard Pierce
 Pierce during Baltimore Ravens practice in 2012 | |||||||||
| No. -- Free agent | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | May 10, 1991 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Ardmore, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Glen Mills (PA) | ||||||||
| College: | Temple | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2012 / Round: 3 / Pick: 84 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2015 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Bernard Hayward Pierce[1] (born May 10, 1991) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played college football for Temple University. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Early years
Pierce attended Glen Mills Schools in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. He played football and ran track. Pierce also attended Welsh Valley Middle School in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. He was a second-team Class AAAA All-State selection as a junior. As a senior, he rushed for 1,578 yards and 26 touchdowns, and also scored five two-point conversions. He led Delco with 143.4 rushing yards per game.
Pierce was also on the school's track team, where he competed as a sprinter. He placed third in the 60 meters at the 2009 Indoor State Championships, recording a personal-best time of 6.98 seconds.[2] As a senior, he ran a career-best time of 10.6 seconds in the 100 meters, the fastest time in the state that year.[3] He also ran the 200 meters in 22.34 seconds.[4]
College career
Pierce was a student in the School of Communications and Theater majoring in Communications.
In 2009, Pierce won the Mid-American Conference freshman of the year award after rushing for 1,361 yards and 16 touchdowns.[5]
After a strong week 3 performance against Connecticut, Pierce was named MAC Performer of the Week. He rushed for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns in the game.[6] Through 10 games in 2010, Pierce had 728 yards and 10 touchdowns.
In a blowout win over Maryland, Pierce scored a career high 5 touchdowns in the 38-7 win. He finished the game with 147 yards on 32 carries to go along with the five scores. That season, Pierce earned Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) FBS Offensive Player of the Year honors and led Temple to its first bowl game win in 32 years, a 37-15 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys in the New Mexico Bowl.[7]
Professional career
2012 NFL Combine
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in | 218 lb | 4.45 s | 1.58 s | 2.53 s | 4.28 s | 7.07 s | 36.5 in | 10 ft 3 in | 17 reps | ||||||||||
| All values from Central Florida Pro Day.[8] | |||||||||||||||||||
Baltimore Ravens
2012 season
The Baltimore Ravens traded up to take Pierce in the 3rd round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Pierce would become a great complement to starting running back Ray Rice. Pierce scored his first touchdown of his professional career against the Cleveland Browns in Week 9 on November 4, 2012 on a 12-yard run. In Week 16, he ran for 123 yards on 14 carries against the New York Giants, including a 78-yard run from scrimmage. On January 6, 2013, in the Wild Card playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts, he ran for 103 yards on 13 carries. On February 3, 2013, the Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII, earning Pierce his first Super Bowl ring in his rookie year. He rushed for 33 yards on 12 attempts in the win. It was thought that Pierce will take some of star running back Ray Rice's carries next season.
2013 season
Pierce scored his second career rushing touchdown on a 5-yard run in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns. He would then get a third rushing touchdown the next week against the Houston Texans in a 30-9 victory. [9] Six weeks into the 2013 season, Pierce was the Ravens leading rusher. He had 206 yards on 73 carries while only averaging 2.8 yards per carry.
2014 season
Bernard became the starting running back during the 2014 NFL season after Ray Rice was cut and suspended for an off-season altercation with his wife. He scored his first rushing touchdown of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On March 18, 2015, Pierce was pulled over by police at 2am for speeding at 55 mph in a zone with a 35 mph speed limit. He failed the subsequent field sobriety test, as he was unable to walk in a straight line for more than two yards. Pierce was subsequently released from the Ravens later that day.[10]
Jacksonville Jaguars
2015 season
On March 19, 2015, Pierce was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars.[11]
New York Jets
2016 season
Pierce was signed by the New York Jets on July 27, 2016.[12] The Jets placed Pierce on their injured reserve list on August 16, 2016. He had been battling a hamstring injury throughout training camp.[13] The Jets and Pierce reached an injury settlement and he was released from the reserve list on August 20, 2016.[14]
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Att | Yds | Avg | Yds/G | Long | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Yds/G | Long | TD | Fum | Lost |
| 2012 | Baltimore | 16 | 108 | 532 | 4.9 | 33.3 | 78 | 1 | 7 | 47 | 6.7 | 2.9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Baltimore | 16 | 152 | 436 | 2.9 | 27.3 | 28 | 2 | 20 | 104 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | Baltimore | 13 | 93 | 366 | 3.9 | 28.2 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 45 | 353 | 1334 | 3.8 | 29.6 | 78 | 5 | 29 | 164 | 5.7 | 3.6 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Personal life
Over the 2014 Memorial Day weekend, three Baltimore Ravens players including Pierce were tossed out of an Ocean City, Maryland nightclub. Reports state Pierce, Jacoby Jones and Jimmy Smith were all asked to leave for an inability to “maintain their composure”.[15]
See also
References
- ↑ Documentation from Wednesday March 18, 2015 DUI arrest – District Court of Maryland for Baltimore County.
- ↑ "Pennsylvania HS Indoor State Championships - Track & Field Meet". Athletic.net. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun http://touch.baltimoresun.com/#story/bal-harbaugh-says-bernard-pierce-clearly-bigger-and-faster-20130727/. Retrieved September 8, 2014. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Glen Mills Schools". PennTrackXC.com. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
- ↑ "Bernard Pierce". Retrieved September 8, 2014.
- ↑ Philadelphia Tribune http://www.phillytrib.com/tribune/sports/96-lockerroom/14600-temple-rb-pierce-named-mac-offensive-player-of-week.html. Retrieved September 30, 2010. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Temple Owls vs. Wyoming Cowboys - Recap - December 17, 2011 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
- ↑ "Latavius Murray - Central Florida, RB : 2013 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". Retrieved September 8, 2014.
- ↑ Alper, Josh. "Bernard Pierce claimed off waivers by Jaguars". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- ↑ Hensley, Jamison. "Ravens cut RB Bernard Pierce". ESPN NFL.
- ↑ Jaguars awarded Pierce off waivers
- ↑ Allen, Eric (July 27, 2016). "Jets Sign RB Bernard Pierce, Waive Zac Stacy". New York Jets. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
- ↑ Allen, Eric (August 16, 2016). "Jets Sign RB Antone Smith, Place Pierce on IR". New York Jets. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
- ↑ Allen, Eric (August 20, 2016). "Jets Release RB Bernard Pierce". New York Jets. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
- ↑ http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/05/28/report-three-ravens-teammates-booted-from-seacrets-for-public-drunkenness/