Bernard Hayward Pierce (born May 10, 1990) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

. He played college football for

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

. He was drafted by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Early years

Pierce attended

Glen Mills Schools The Glen Mills Schools is a youth detention center for juvenile delinquents located near Glen Mills in Thornbury Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, for boys between 12 and 21 years of age. The school was founded in 1826 ...

Glen Mills, Pennsylvania Glen Mills is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States about 27 miles west of Philadelphia. T ...

. 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 Delaware County 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 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

at the 2009 Indoor State Championships, recording a personal-best time of 6.98 seconds. As a senior, he ran a career-best time of 10.6 seconds in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

, the fastest time in the state that year. He also ran the 200 meters in 22.34 seconds.

College career

Following his high school career, Pierce signed on to play football at

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. While at Temple, Pierce was a student in the School of Communications and Theater and majored in Communications. In 2009, Pierce won the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

freshman of the year award after rushing for 1,361 yards and 16 touchdowns. 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. Through 10 games in the 2010 season, 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 The Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls are the athletic teams that represent the University of Wyoming, located in Laramie. Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 17 NCAA-sanctioned sports ...

in the New Mexico Bowl.

Professional career

2012 NFL Combine

Baltimore Ravens

2012 season

The

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 Raymell Mourice Rice (born January 22, 1987) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at Rutgers, where he received first-t ...

. Pierce scored his first touchdown of his professional career against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

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 The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

34-31 in

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

, earning Pierce his first

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

in his rookie year. He rushed for 33 yards on 12 attempts in the win.

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. 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 a backup — along with

Lorenzo Taliaferro Lorenzo Taliaferro (December 23, 1991December 16, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Lackawanna College and Coastal Carolina and was dr ...

— to

Justin Forsett Justin Forsett (born October 14, 1985) is an American former football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft ...

for the Ravens 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 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

. 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.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 19, 2015, Pierce was claimed off waivers by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on December 7, 2015.

New York Jets

Pierce was signed by the New York Jets on July 27, 2016. The Jets placed Pierce on their injured reserve list on August 16, 2016. He had been battling a hamstring injury throughout training camp. The Jets and Pierce reached an injury settlement and he was released from the reserve list on August 20, 2016.

Denver Broncos

Pierce signed a reserve/future contract with the Broncos on January 2, 2017. On August 21, 2017, he was released by the Broncos.

Flag football

In 2018, Pierce played as a member of the Roadrunners led by retired quarterback,

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...

, in the

American Flag Football League The American Flag Football League is a semi-professional flag football league started in 2017. The league was founded by Jeff Lewis in May 2017. Lewis spent nine months building the league, getting investors, setting the rules, and finding player ...

Career statistics

''Source

'

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bioBaltimore Ravens bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Bernard 1990 births Living people American football running backs Denver Broncos players Baltimore Ravens players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Jets players People from Ardmore, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Temple Owls football players