Roderick Pierce

"He's really grown as a player. Last year, he started coming on towards the end of the year on film from the Marist game to the beginning of the playoffs, then he really wreaked havoc this year. He came in and changed everything. Culturally, he was ‘how do I watch film properly?’ He concentrated on technique and run fits. He would always go to camps and learn pass rush stuff, so he had done a lot of that but as far as being a run defender, he was absolutely amazing. He single handedly changed our defense for the better and kept us in games we wouldn’t have been in without him. He altered games. Against Joliet Catholic, he was not only great in that game against a four-star Northwestern commit on the offensive line but he also blocked a field goal to get us into overtime and eventually win that game. He’s a good kid from a great family – his younger brother is an absolute stud for us also – and he’s just been awesome. Our strength coach, who is a former D1 guy, talked to me preseason about this 2023 class and this was the first time they had a full off-season in the weight room because of Covid restrictions. That obviously helps. He gained weight, got up to 293 pounds and doesn’t look like it whatsoever. With his physical growth as well as his mental maturation of leadership too, he’s still not even close to his potential. I’ve been fortunate to coach in Texas and out in Southern California and this guy has no idea what his potential is. He has no clue." - Casey Quedenfeld, Chicago Brother Rice head coach