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20 Pierre Strong, Jr.

  • Height
    5-11
  • Weight
    205
  • Position
    Running Back
  • Class
    Senior
  • Hometown
    Little Rock, Ark.
  • High School
    McClellan H.S.
  • Major
    Sociology

Biography

PRONUNCIATION


HONORS AND AWARDS
  • Stats Perform Walter Payton Award Finalist (2020-21, 2021)
  • AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America First Team (2020-21, 2021)    
  • HERO Sports FCS All-America Team (2019, 2020-21, 2021) 
  • Associated Press All-America First Team (2021)
  • Associated Press All-America Third Team (2019)
  • Athlon Sports FCS All-America Team (2021)
  • Stats Perform FCS All-America First Team (2021)
  • Stats Perform FCS All-America Second Team (2020-21)        
  • Phil Steele All-America First Team (2020-21, 2021)    
  • Phil Steele All-America Third Team (2019)        
  • Walter Camp FCS All-America Team (2021)
  • HERO Sports FCS Freshman All-America First Team (2018)
  • Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-America Second Team (2018)
  • All-Missouri Valley Football Conference First Team (2019, 2020-21, 2021)
  • MVFC Freshman of the Year (2018)        
  • MVFC All-Newcomer Team (2018)
  • MVFC Offensive Player of the Week (Feb. 19, 2021; Sept. 25, 2021; Nov. 6, 2021)
  • MVFC Newcomer of the Week (Nov. 10, 2018; Nov. 17, 2018)
OTHER NOTES
  • Team Captain (2020-21, 2021)
  • Ended his career ranked third on the SDSU career rushing charts with 4,527 yards
  • Topped the 100-yard mark in 18 career games (two games with 200-plus yards)
  • Fourth player in school history with three separate 1,000-yard seasons (Josh Ranek, Kyle Minett, Zach Zenner)
  • His 40 career touchdown runs ranked fourth in program history and covered an average of 27.3  yards
  • Nine of his career touchdown runs were 50 or more yards, including career-long 85-yarder Oct. 9, 2021, against Southern Illinois
  • Posted 11 multi-touchdown games (10 rushing, 1 rushing-receiving) in his career
  • Career passing statistics included 9-for-9 passing for 208 yards and six touchdowns
2021: Was a consensus All-America selection after leading the Football Championship Subdivision in rushing with 1,668 yards ... also earned first-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors for the third season in a row ... topped the 100-yard mark in nine of 15 games, starting with 138-yard, two-touchdown performance on 13 carries in season-opening win at Colorado State (9/3) ... was named MVFC Offensive Player of the Week for first time in 2021 after rushing 20 times for 150 yards and also throwing for a 22-yard touchdown in league opener at Indiana State (9/25) ... tossed second TD pass of the season and also ran for two scores and 162 yards versus Southern Illinois (10/9) ... tallied 163 yards on 19 attempts with two scores at Youngstown State (10/30) ... ran for a 75-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage and accounted for two more touchdowns on the ground and through the air in win over second-ranked North Dakota State (11/6) ... received MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time after tallying 156 yards on 23 carries versus NDSU ... opened FCS playoffs with 19-carry, 185-yard performance against UC Davis that included his fourth touchdown pass of the season (11/27) ... scored on 44-yard run in finishing with 94 yards on 14 carries in FCS semifinal at Montana State (12/18) ... selected in fourth round of the 2022 National Football League Draft by the New England Patriots

2020-21: Ranked second on the team with 707 rushing yards in nine games (78.6 ypg) en route to earning All-America and all-conference honors ... also ranked third on the team with 20 receptions ... earned Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 91 yards on 22 carries and catching career-best six passes for 31 yards, including game-winning 1-yard touchdown in closing seconds ... gained 95 yards on 17 carries in road game at North Dakota ... honored as team's Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for season-high 124 yards on 21 carries versus Youngstown State ... scored on season-long 53-yard touchdown run in road win at North Dakota State to close the regular season, a game in which he posted 145 yards from scrimmage (95 rushing, 50 receiving) ... opened Football Championship Subdivision playoffs with 76 rushing yards on 13 carries and a pair of receptions for 23 yards versus Holy Cross ... tallied 73 rushing yards on 14 carries with a touchdown and also threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Mark Gronowski in playoff semifinal versus Delaware ... recorded 15 carries for 57 yards in national championship game against Sam Houston

2019: Became the seventh running back in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, gaining a team-best 1,018 yards in 11 games ... also led team with eight rushing touchdowns and averaged 7.1 yards per carry ... totaled 159 all-purpose yards (53 rushing, 59 receiving and 47 on kickoff returns in season opener at Minnesota ... topped the 100-yard mark for rushing in four games, the first of which was an 11-carry, 129-yard performance against Drake that included a 49-yard touchdown run ... scored on a 45-yard pass play and 9-yard run in second half of Beef Bowl win over Southern Utah ... posted second 200-yard game of his career, rushing for 229 yards while matching his career high with 20 carries, including a season-long 64-yard touchdown in Hobo Day victory against Southern Illinois ... named team's Offensive Player of the Week for his performances against Southern Illinois, Indiana State and North Dakota State ...hit the century mark in consecutive games, carrying 17 times for 144 yards and two scores at Indiana State and rushing for 120 yards on 19 carries versus North Dakota State ... racked up 207 yards of total offense in road win at Missouri State, gaining 99 yards on the ground and tallying 108 through the air, including an 89-yard touchdown pass

2018: Burst onto the scene with a strong second half of the season to finish with team bests of 1,116 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns ... topped the 100-yard mark five times in the last six games of the season and scored at least one touchdown in each of the final six contests ... his 11 touchdown runs averaged 44.4 yards ... first collegiate carry went for 36 yards in season opener against Montana State ... scored first collegiate touchdown on a 66-yard catch and run versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff ... recorded a 69-yard run as part of a six-carry, 95-yard performance in overtime victory over Indiana State ... ran for touchdowns of 55 and 54 yards in the first half en route to 136 yards on nine carries against Missouri State to earn team's Offensive Player of the Week award for the first time ... gained 188 yards on only 14 carries with three touchdowns, including a 72-yarder, at Southern Illinois to be honored as Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Week ... repeated as winner of MVFC weekly newcomer honor and team's top offensive player by matching career high with three touchdown runs, highlighted by a 73-yard scoring dash, in regular season finale against South Dakota ... his 253 yards on only 17 carries versus USD marked the 10th-best single-game rushing total in program history ... broke through the defense for a 52-yard touchdown run late in first half of Football Championship Subdivision playoff opener against Duquesne ... hit the 100-yard for the first time in postseason play with 112 yards on 18 carries with a 9-yard touchdown in quarterfinal victory at Kennesaw State ... reached the 1,000-yard mark on his 100th rushing attempt of the season in semifinal playoff game at North Dakota State, a game in which he tallied 135 yards on a career-high 20 carries with a 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter ... ended the season with an average of 9.5 yards per carry

2017: Redshirted ... was a strong contributor on the practice field, earning Scout Special Teams Player of the Week leading up to home victory against Illinois State

BEFORE SDSU: Earned all-state honors three times and was selected as the Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year at McClellan High School ... totaled 4,268 rushing yards and scored 57 touchdowns over his final two seasons en route to being honored on the All-USA Arkansas Football Team ... other honors included being named a finalist for the Landers Award, which is given to the top high school football player in Arkansas ... also competed in track and field

Statistics

Season:
2021

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 29

    2017Freshman

    Running Back
    5'11" 205 lbs
    29
  • 20

    2018Redshirt Freshman

    Running Back
    5'11" 195 lbs
    20
  • 20

    2019Sophomore

    Running Back
    5'11" 200 lbs
    20
  • 20

    2020-21Junior

    Running Back
    5'11" 210 lbs
    20
  • 20

    2021Senior

    Running Back
    5'11" 205 lbs
    20
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