Alec Pierce: Indianapolis Colts Rookie Files

From three-star recruit to second-round NFL draft pick, Pierce has placed sports and academics at the forefront to get to where he is today.

Making it to the NFL is an incredibly difficult journey.

Less than 1% of all high school football players in America eventually play for an NFL team. The challenge is immense, with kids dedicating their entire lives to a shot at playing professional football. But when they finally achieve their dreams, all the blood, sweat, and tears they have poured into the game becomes worth it.

Every NFL rookie has a unique story of how they got to this point. These stories draw fans to the players, seeing the personal side of their heroes. They feel a closeness with the player, leading them to passionately cheer when watching that player give it their all on Sundays.

And that is what “Rookie Files” is all about. This series on Horseshoe Huddle gives you the backstory on every rookie for the Indianapolis Colts. Going player by player, we look at their journeys to the NFL and what makes each one unique while also detailing how they help the Colts. First up, Alec Pierce, who not only comes from a very athletic family but has the brains to match as he looks to take on a major role in the Colts’ offense.

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A Family of Athletes

Pierce was born on May 2, 2000, in the town of Glen Ellyn, Illinois. To say he was destined to be an athlete from birth may seem cliché, but when you look at his parents’ pedigree, it is not so far-fetched.

Both of Pierce’s parents were stars at their respective sports in college. His father, Greg, played football at Northwestern, while his mother, Stephanie, played volleyball for the Wildcats. Not only did they have the skill to play Division I sports, but their success in the classroom allowed them to take their talents to one of the highest academic institutes in the country.

Greg and Stephanie were married and had three children, all boys. Alec’s older brother, Justin, took his talents to the hardwood, earning a scholarship to play for the North Carolina Tar Heels. His younger brother, Caden, also plays basketball and will begin his freshman season at Princeton in the fall.

Sports were a huge part of the Pierce household, and Alec was no different. Growing up, Pierce was always in a sport, keeping him busy year-round. In addition to football, Pierce was heavily involved in volleyball, basketball, and track.

His love for sports continued into high school, where he attended Glenbard West High School. Pierce thrived in all areas, winning a state championship in volleyball and setting records in the triple jump and relays in track.

However, the real success came on the football field. Pierce played both sides of the ball at Glenbard West under head coach Chad Hetlet. He started his high school career with most of his snaps coming on the defensive side of the ball.

“Growing up, I played, really, a lot of defense,” Pierce explained. “I was a safety all throughout high school until my junior year, I switched over to receiver.”

When Pierce switched to wide receiver, he began to make a name for himself. He hauled in 28 catches and averaged almost 30 yards per reception, catching seven touchdowns. Glenbard West made it to the Illinois state semi-finals and Pierce earned Illinois High School Football Coaches Association (IHSFCA) First Team All-State Class 8A honors, DuPage County football All-Area team accolades, and All-West Suburban Silver honors.

Pierce continued to make waves his senior year, and college programs took notice. With 25 catches for 372 yards and five touchdowns, in addition to three sacks and four interceptions on defense, Pierce earned IHSFCA Class 8A selection, DuPage County football All-Area team accolades, and All-West Suburban Silver honors. He ended his senior season as a three-star prospect and the No. 24 ranked player in the state of Illinois, according to 247Sports.com.

The college offers began to pour in for Pierce as teams saw the potential in the young wide receiver. Not only was his football acumen impressive, but his size (6’3”,) speed, and leaping ability were very enticing to recruiters. Pierce had nearly 20 offers to choose from, including the likes of Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri.

In the end, Pierce chose Cincinnati to continue his football career at the next level. While Pierce connected with head coach Luke Fickell and the rest of the team, it was the academics that sold him on becoming a Bearcat.

“UC offered me late in the recruiting process,” Pierce said via UC.edu. “I didn’t know much about it until I came on an official visit. It was a good atmosphere, the guys on the team are great and engineering is a great program, so UC had everything I was looking for.”

Pierce went from Illinois to Ohio, across the state whose team would eventually draft him to the NFL. But it would take a lot of hard work and overcoming some early challenges to get to that point.

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What Almost Wasn’t

Pierce came to Cincinnati as an athlete with experience at wide receiver and safety. He looked to make an impact anywhere on the field, doing whatever coaches asked of him.

As a true freshman, Pierce was relegated to mostly special teams work. He played in 11 games that season but only saw snaps at receiver in four of those. While he did not record a stat on offense, he made six tackles on special teams.

During the lead-up to the Military Bowl that season, coaches thought Pierce could be more valuable at a different position. He was switched to linebacker at practice to see how it fit. While Pierce played well and showed potential, a very long road would have lied ahead.

“I switched over just for bowl practices, they tried me out at basically SAM linebacker which is kind of a hybrid safety position, really DB in our league on our defense,” Pierce explained. “I did that for a little bit and I was doing well at it but I would have had to gain a lot of weight. It would have been a long road to play in. Probably would have had to redshirt that next year and gained 20, 30 pounds.”

In the end, the Bearcats’ coaching staff decided it was not worth the redshirt year to make Pierce change positions. If he would have switched to linebacker, there is no guarantee he would have made it to the NFL. But it was the addition of wide receivers coach Mike Brown that turned everything around for Pierce.

“(Cincinnati) changed receiver coaches and (I) got a new opportunity with a new coach, and he was the guy who made me the player I am today.”

What came next put Pierce on a fast track to stardom.

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A Star On and Off the Field

As Pierce began his sophomore year, Brown took him under his wing. Pierce was always a hard worker, but under Brown’s guidance, he took the next step on the field.

Pierce got the opportunity to prove himself as he started 13 games at wide receiver. He was second on the team in catches (37) and led the Bearcats in both receiving yards (652) and yards per reception (17.6.) Pierce earned AAC All-Academic Team honors and established himself as one of the top threats in the Bearcats’ offense.

Pierce dealt with knee and shoulder injuries as a junior but still played in six of the Bearcats’ ten games. While he only had 17 catches in 2020, he still led the team in yards per reception and came up with big performances against Tulsa in the AAC Championship game and Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Those performances were a sign of things to come.

As a senior and captain, Pierce had fully arrived. He was the undisputed WR1 for the Bearcats and the favorite weapon of quarterback Desmond Ridder. In 14 games, Pierce amassed 52 catches for 884 yards and eight touchdowns, earning Second Team All-AAC honors and leading the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff.

Pierce ended his college career with 106 catches for 1,851 yards and 13 touchdowns. He went from a player possibly switching to linebacker to a high-end NFL draft prospect at wide receiver. While Pierce was excelling on the field, he was also chasing his passion off of it.

For Pierce, one of the main draws to Cincinnati was its mechanical engineering program. A program that normally takes students five years to complete, it is an incredibly demanding degree to earn. Yet Pierce finished it in three and a half years, all the while working on his game and excelling on the football field.

“I’ve learned time management and being able to prioritize things in your life,” Pierce said at the time. “Sometimes you have to stay in and do school work and get the important things done. Sometimes you have to get up early when you don’t want to, but I’ve learned that by getting up early you can get things done when you are fresh and focused.”

It is that kind of intelligence and determination, combined with his incredible athletic ability, that drew the Colts to wide receiver. After seeing Pierce at the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl, the Colts traveled to Cincinnati to put Pierce through a private workout.

“(The Colts) came to our campus, and we did a private workout,” Pierce recalled. “They worked out me, Des (Desmond Ridder) and another wide receiver Michael Young from our team. After the workout, I actually got a call from (Chris Ballard) about how great of a workout it was just as a whole, how impressed he was with our whole program.”

The impression that was left on general manager Chris Ballard stuck with him throughout the draft cycle. On Day 2, Ballard turned in the pick, making Pierce the Colts’ selection at No. 53 in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

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How Pierce Helps the Colts

The Colts drafted Pierce to be a compliment to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. on the outside. Pierce brings great speed (4.41 40-yard dash) and leaping ability (40.5-inch vertical) to a wide receiver room that loves explosive athletes.

Pierce has been running as WR3 throughout training camp and the preseason in the Z wide receiver spot. Pierce has been working extensively with wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne to master the playbook, as the Colts are expecting Pierce to have a big role on offense. Indy knows from his work at Cincinnati that Pierce can handle a lot on his plate.

It has been a trial by fire for Pierce since getting to the Colts. Receiving coaching from Wayne, undergoing extra throwing sessions with quarterback Matt Ryan, and going up against cornerback Stephon Gilmore has been extremely beneficial for the rookie. His quarterback, a former NFL MVP, has taken notice.

“He’s a really hard worker and when you combine that with talent – the good players I’ve been around, they have all been that way,” Ryan explained. “More so than anything he does on the field, it’s the combination of the work ethic, the competitiveness, all of the intangible stuff combined with the talent. If you’re going to be a great player in this league, which I think he can be, you’ve got to have it all. You’ve got to have the work ethic, you’ve got to have the confidence and then you've got to have the skillset to do it too. The combination of those things is what fires me up about him.”

The Colts believe Pierce can be a major part of their offense for years to come. His journey to the NFL shows a determined work ethic, incredible athleticism, and rare intelligence. Those three qualities make for a dangerous combination and one the Colts hope will terrorize the rest of the NFL for a long time.

Have thoughts on Alec Pierce and the Rookie Files series? Let us know in the comments below!

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