Pierre Strong was met with little fanfare when he left McClellan High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, with the Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year award and 4,268 rushing yards and 57 touchdowns over his final two seasons. He was not a ranked prospect and received only minimal collegiate interest, with offers from South Dakota State, Central Arkansas, East Illinois, and Missouri State.

However, after redshirting in 2017, he wasted no time claiming the South Dakota State backfield in 2018, with 1,116 rushing yards on only 117 carries (9.5 yards per carry). The yardage factory never slowed down during his tenure at South Dakota State. With his 1,694 rushing yards last season and a blazing combine, Strong has put himself on the NFL’s radar.

He ran a 4.37 40-yard dash, and with the rest of his measurables, Strong finished with a 95th percentile speed score (per PlayerProfiler.com), 86th percentile burst score, and 75th percentile agility score. Strong is currently looking at possible late-round draft capital (his estimated draft position per Grindingthemocks.com is 151.6), so if he’s going to stick on a roster and earn touches, he’ll need to make some noise. Strong has several ways to beat the drum that we’ll delve into.