Safety hasn’t played at Boise State since ’19. He’ll work out at Pro Day with 10 others
Eleven former Boise State players will work out for NFL scouts at Pro Day on Monday, including one who hasn’t taken the field for the Broncos since 2019.
Safety DeAndre Pierce spent last season as an assistant on Boise State’s recruiting staff, but he was a surprise addition to the list of Pro Day attendees the university released on Tuesday.
Pierce, the son of former NFL linebacker Antonio Pierce, played at Boise State from 2016 to 2019. He appeared in just nine games during his final two seasons, but he racked up 144 tackles, seven tackles for loss, a sack and an interception during his time with the Broncos.
In 2019, he transferred to Arizona State, where his father was co-defensive coordinator. Pierce, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound native of Long Beach, California, spent the final two seasons of his college career with the Sun Devils and posted 86 tackles, three interceptions and one sack.
Former Boise State running back is staying with Vikings as they commit to ground game
The rest of the Broncos’ Pro Day attendees: safeties JL Skinner and Tyreque Jones; cornerbacks Caleb Biggers and Tyric LeBeauf; defensive linemen Scott Matlock, Divine Obichere and George Tarlas; offensive lineman John Ojukwu; linebacker Ezekiel Noa; and tight end Kurt Rafdal.
Skinner (6-4, 220) was a two-time All-Mountain West pick at Boise State. He was named first-team last season after leading the Broncos with four interceptions and finishing second on the team with 65 tackles. He was a second-team pick in 2021 after posting a team-high 92 tackles.
Skinner couldn’t work out at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this month because of a torn pectoral muscle, but he did sit for interviews.
Jones (6-2, 195) spent five seasons as a safety before he moved to nickel last year and posted 34 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and an interception. He took the field at the NFL combine and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds.
Ojukwu also was at the event and finished the shuttle drill in 4.52 seconds, which was the second-fastest time among offensive linemen. The 6-6, 309-pound Boise native started 32 straight games at left tackle for the Broncos, and he was a two-time first-team All-Mountain West pick.
Biggers (5-11, 195) transferred to Boise State in 2021 after three years at Bowling Green, where he was a veteran of 19 starts. He started 22 games for the Broncos the past two seasons and notched the first interception of his career last year.
LeBeauf (6-2, 185) was in and out of the starting lineups the past two year. He started five games in 2021 and finished the season with a team-high three interceptions, including one that he returned 100 yards for a touchdown against UCF. LeBeauf started just one game last season.
Boise State WRs Eric McAlister and Latrell Caples look pretty explosive in these highlights from spring scrimmage No. 1. https://t.co/5cu3FJRect
— Ron Counts (@Ron_BroncoBeat) March 17, 2023
Matlock (6-4, 300) was a mainstay on the interior of the Broncos’ defensive line the past three years. He started 32 games since 2020, led the team with seven sacks in 2021 and finished his college career with 115 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.
Tarlas (6-3, 255) transferred to Boise State last year after five seasons at Weber State, where he racked up 17 career sacks. He started at defensive end in the first seven games of last season, but a hip injury cost him the rest of the season. Tarlas finished the year with four sacks.
Obichere (6-3, 290) joined the Broncos in 2020 after two seasons at Long Beach City College. He was primarily used as a backup at Boise State, but he started two games last year and finished the season with 10 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.
Noa (5-11, 240) was a crucial piece of Boise State’s defensive front the past three years. The middle linebacker started 35 games since 2020 and tied edge rusher Demitri Washington with a team-high 4.5 sacks last season. Noa finished his six-year college career with 230 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks and two interceptions.
Rafdal (6-7, 245) transferred to Boise State in 2021 after four years at Nebraska. He caught the first touchdown pass of his career in 2021 and started four games last year, but he finished his final college season with just one catch.
The NFL Draft is scheduled for April 27-29.
