INDIANAPOLIS -- A little dose of reality was the difference between returning to Temple for a fourth year of football or giving the NFL a shot.
It was time for me to become a man, Temple running back Bernard Pierce said.
And time for him to become a father, too.
Pierce said at the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday that his girlfriend is pregnant with their first child, and his desire to support his young family meant its time to enter the NFL.
Pierce ran for 1,481 yards and 27 touchdowns in just 11 games for Temple this past season with a 5.4 per-carry average. He rushed for 3,570 yards in three years on North Broad Street, second-most in Temple history behind Paul Palmers 4,267 in the mid-1980s.
Pierce, a Glen Mills graduate, ranked sixth in NCAA Division 1 with 123 yards per game and was second to Wisconsins Montee Ball with 162 points scored.
Me and my mother had a long talk about it, and I thought this year would be a good year for me to go out, Pierce said. My stock was pretty high, I did a lot for Temple in the three years that I was there, love my teammates and everything, but I just thought I would like to take a step in this direction.
NFL
Im about to start my own family and I need to be able to support my family and my child. ... The babys due in July so Im excited for that, and I just thought this was an all-around good decision.
Pierce said the short lifespan of running backs was another reason to leave Temple early. He had 663 carries in his three years with the Owls.
You know, Ive been taking 250 plus carries a year, so its a lot of wear and tear on the body, so I just wanted to come to try out for the NFL this year because you never know whats promised for next year, he said. I could possibly break something or something could happen, and it would be a changing factor in my life.
Ive heard a running backs life expectancy is not that long. I had lots of carries every year that Ive been at Temple and I just felt that its time to try to take my talent to the NFL.
Pierce, who stands 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, is projected anywhere from the third to the fifth round. Its been 25 years since a Temple running back was drafted -- that was first-round pick Paul Palmer, who went to the Chiefs and briefly played with the Eagles.
He said this past season was a critical one for him, coming off a largely unproductive, injury-plagued sophomore season, when he had just one big game and saw his NFL stock drop.
It wasnt about the critics or media or anybody saying anything about me, said Pierce, who is attending the Combine along with Temple teammates Tahir Whitehead, a linebacker, and Evan Rodriguez, a tight end.
It was about me. I wanted to prove that, you know, Im a durable back, I can produce way more than what I did my sophomore year. I came out with a chip on my shoulder wanting to prove to myself that I was better than what I put on film last year.
He did that, and the next step is proving hes fast enough, quick enough, strong enough, athletic enough to be an NFL tailback.
Pierce is scheduled to meet with the Eagles in Indy, among many other teams.
Its different, its nerve wrack(ing), trying to make a good first impression on everybody, he said.
The major thing that Im ready to change is I want everybody to know that I am fast. A lot of people are saying that Im a 4.6, 4.7 guy, so (Sunday) Ill prove to everybody that I do have speed on me. And I want to show people that I can catch the ball, because in our system they really didnt feed the back the ball as much as I would like. Those two subjects right there, thats really what Im here for.
What are his strengths?
Size, speed and power together, Pierce said. I can really contribute to any team.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com