AJ Pierce: DT · Troy · #97.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
AJ Pierce
Controls the point of attack and doesn't move. Played for two head coaches at Troy: Chip Lindsey and Jon Sumrall. A game that shows it: 4 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against App State — Week 14, 2023.
Play style
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
13 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 1 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
NJ.com Oct 22Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 48-30vs Stephen F. Austin | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 13-42@ No. 15 Kansas State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 14-16vs James Madison | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 27-24vs Western Kentucky | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 28-10vs South Alabama | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 45-14@ UL Monroe | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 35-17@ Southern Miss | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 49-23vs App State | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Total | 13 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | — | 1 |
Week 14 · 2023
W 49-23
vs App State
0.5 tackles for loss · 4 tackles · 1 solo tackle
Dominant 26-point win at home against App State.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
8%1 TFLSack rate
4%0 sacksHurry rate
8%1 hurry13 tackles · 1 for loss · 0.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 1.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jon Sumrall
Pass share
48.7%
455 pass / 480 run
Plays / game
66.8
14 games
Team sack rate
4.9%
485 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
How it ended
Five seasons at Troy, 45 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Chip Lindsey → Jon Sumrall. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
