Alec Pierce was a 3-star prospect from the Chicago suburb Glen Ellyn, IL. Pierce committed to Cincinnati over his only other offer, Illinois State, according to 247 Sports. He was a Bearcat for 4 seasons, but didn’t produce until his sophomore season at the wide receiver position. Pierce was largely on special teams as a freshman, but did not return any kicks or punts. As a sophomore, he had decent production while sharing the field with future NFL draft pick Josiah Deguara. The season ended with Pierce coming in 2nd on the team in receptions (37), but led the team in receiving yards (652).
Alec Pierce battled through injuries his junior year only playing in 6 of 10 games. However, he was on pace for 29 receptions and 525 yards. That would've been a team high receiving yard total. He also continued to keep a high yards per reception, 18.5 ypr vs 17.0 ypr his sophomore year.
2021 marked the peak of Pierce’s production. It coincided with Desmond Ridder’s ascension. Their combination helped Cincinnati earn a berth to the College Football Playoff. It was the first time a group of 5 team made it in. Pierce led the Bearcats in receptions (52) and yardage (884). It wasn't even close. The next closest player had 34 receptions and the next in terms of yardage had 520. The highlight of the season was his performance at Notre Dame. In a game where the Bearcats were a huge underdog, Pierce went 6 for 144 and made future NFL defensive backs look like division 3 players.
Alec Pierce was invited to the senior bowl. He left after a couple of days into the practice schedule. Rumor was that he had a good idea that he didn't need to play in the senior bowl to boost his draft stock. It’s hard to argue that when he showed up to the combine. He was measured at 6-3 211 lbs and ran a 4.41 40-yard dash. His testing placed Pierce in the 96th percentile for speed score and the 94th percentile for burst according to PlayerProfiler advanced stats. Along with an 82nd percentile breakout age, Pierce is projected to go in round 3.
Alec Pierce was selected in the 2nd round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Other than Michael Pittman, there’s really no one for Matt Ryan to throw to of consequence. Compounded with comments from the front office that they’re irritated with Parris Campbell’s lack of availability, Pierce finds himself in a nice offense with a QB that can complete forward passes.
