Andrew Pierce Receives Touchdown Club of South Jersey FCS Player of the Year Award
December 14, 2011
File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell
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DEPTFORD, N.J. -- University of Delaware All-American running back Andrew Pierce (at right) was honored close to his hometown Wednesday night as the speedy sophomore received the 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision College Player of the Year Award presented by the Touchdown Club of Southern New Jersey at its annual awards banquet at the Adelphia Restaurant.
Pierce, a fitness management major from Bridgeton, N.J. (Cumberland Regional High School), was among several football players and coaches honored from both the local high school and college levels for their accomplishments both on and off the field during the 2011 season.
This marks the second straight year that Pierce has been honored in his home state. Last season he was named the New Jersey Sportswriters Association College Running Back of the Year after leading the Blue Hens to the FCS national championship game.
On hand to help honor Pierce tonight was his mother, Wanda Pierce, his grandfather, Richard Rice, and his backfield coach at Delaware, Gregg Perry.
Pierce, one of the nation’s top running backs, put together another outstanding season in 2011 as he started all 11 games and rushed 279 times for 1,279 yards and 16 touchdowns, ranking among the national leaders in each category.
A second team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, he averaged 4.6 yards per game and 116.3 yards per game and also caught 42 passes for 212 yards. His best effort of the season came in an early November victory over Richmond as he rushed for a career-high 215 yards.
In just two seasons at Delaware, Pierce has rushed for 2,934 yards and 30 touchdowns while catching 74 passes for 411 yards and three scores. His 2,934 yards ranks him No. 4 on the Delaware career list.
As a true freshman in 2010, Pierce put together one of the finest season ever for a rookie in FCS history. He earned All-American honors by both The Sports Network and by the College Sporting News, was named the national Freshman of the Year by both Phil Steele College Football Magazine and by the College Sporting News, and earned first team All-CAA, CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year, and ECAC All-East Freshman of the Year honors.
He rushed 329 times for UD freshman record 1,655 yards and 14 touchdowns while catching 32 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns. He ranked 15th in the nation in rushing yards per game and reached 1,000 yards in a career faster than any player in Delaware history.
The Blue Hens, led by 10th-year head coach K.C. Keeler, posted a 7-4 record this past fall, narrowly missing a berth in the NCAA FCS Tournament.
