Former Daphne High School standout Michael Pierce went undrafted after his collegiate football career at Samford. But next week, he'll start his third NFL training camp.
At his first camp, he earned a spot on the Baltimore Ravens' roster. At his second, he became a starter in the Ravens' defensive line.
Before he reports to training camp on Wednesday, Pierce came home to Daphne to hold a free football camp for area youngsters on Saturday. The Daphne Pro Camp was sponsored by Pierce and three of his Daphne High School teammates who also are NFL players -- New England Patriots defensive end Eric Lee, Washington Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Anderson and Jacksonville Jaguars running back T.J. Yeldon.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM'S COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
During their time with the Trojans, Daphne won the AHSAA Class 6A championship, completing its 15-0 season with a 7-6 victory over Hoover in the state-title game, with Pierce winning the MVP honor in the finale.
Before the camp started at Trione Park in Daphne on Saturday, Pierce talked about the event and football:
Q. How much does it mean to come back and give back to the community?
A. It means a lot. I grew up -- and a lot of these guys -- grew up looking up to Pat White and those guys. And just to see them come back and give just a few words meant the world to us in high school. It kind of spurred us on to winning the state championship. To fulfill their dreams means everything to me, so it was a no-brainer for me to come back.
Q. What does it mean to you to be back together with this group of guys that you won that championship with?
A. Man, it's special. We've got Eric Lee. He played in the Super Bowl, something we all dream of. It was great to be back with the guys. Just laugh about old stuff. See a lot of our old coaches -- coach Glenn Vickery, coach Robert Guthrie over there. Even our equipment guy JoJo's out here. It's like a big family reunion, something that I look forward to.
Q. What do you hope the kids take away from this today?
A. Just that anything you dream is possible whether it be a football player, being a lawyer. My brother played football at Daphne and graduated from The Citadel, and he's going to be an accountant. We've got a whole bunch of guys that are just motivated and want to impart anything into the youth that we can. It doesn't have to be football. It can be any kind of sport, any profession. You just want to let them know it's OK to dream, and you can be anything you want to be.
Q. What's something that you learned growing up here that's helped you make it to the NFL?
A. Just seeing how hard everybody works for what they have, starting with my father at home. It's what our coaches imparted to us -- that hard work will get you very far in this world. You don't take anything for granted. Nothing will be given to you. You earn what you make, and you earn your keep. That's something that I kept with me throughout high school, college and the pros.
Q. What do you remember the most about that championship year?
A. Just the camaraderie. We had (defensive coordinator) Bart Sessions come in and he brought a whole new system in, and everybody just seemed to jell unlike anything I had seen up until I got to my senior year in college. We had a whole bunch of these guys -- Eric Lee, T.J. Yeldon, Ryan -- stepped up as leaders, and we kind of just guided guys in the right direction, and we ended up achieving our goal in high school.
Q. Did you see these guys in high school and say, "He's going to be playing in the NFL. I know he is" or have any idea that would happen?
A. You had T.J., who was a starter on varsity in his 10th-grade year. Ryan started, too. But T.J., just to see how physically developed he was for a 10th-grader. I'm a year older than him, and he was ripped up and getting calls from Oregon in the middle of the night and that kind of stuff. A funny little tidbit. You knew that kid was special from Day 1. Ryan matured and got really, really, really big in high school. I kind of matured and came along. Eric Lee, to see him in 10th grade, he was a skinny kid, kind of awkward. To see what he's doing now is amazing.
Q. They put Eric at wide receiver to start with, I think. Is that right?
A. Right. Right. He might have been like 180 pounds. To see him today, man, he's all cut up and what not. It's an amazing journey, and I'm glad I got to see all this stuff firsthand.
Q. Well what about the Ravens this year? You're coming off a couple of years of just missing the playoffs.
A. We were literally one play away from being in the playoffs. This year, we brought in a whole bunch of receivers, which will help us a lot. Our defense needs to continue to take good steps under the leadership of Terrell Suggs. But I think our passing attack will be a lot better. Willie Snead, Michael Crabtree -- we've got some weapons, so we're excited to see what we can do.
Q. Everybody seems to be talking about that rookie quarterback y'all got. What's he like?
A. Yeah, Lamar Jackson's an explosive athlete. He's picking up the game a lot quicker than most people would have believed, being able to call the plays right out of college. We've got some stuff I don't want to give away right now, but we've got some packages where he'll be in there with (quarterback) Joe (Flacco).
Q. You guys have a bunch of players from Alabama one way or another -- high school or college. I think the Ravens have more than any other team in the league now. How about that?
A. It's that (general manager and former Alabama star) Ozzie Newsome connection. I think it just speaks to how well we're taught in this state. Growing up, I played at Municipal Park over in Mobile. Sound fundamentally speaking, and then you just continue to work hard. You see guys like (Vigor High School's) Sen'Derrick Marks make it out of here. Pat White, (Murphy High School's) Captain Munnerlyn, those kids of guys. When you see those guys make it, you know that you can make it. So trust your process and believe and work for it.
(In addition to Pierce, the Ravens with Alabama roots include cornerback Anthony Averett of Alabama, center Bradley Bozeman of Handley High School and Alabama, cornerback Jaylen Hill of Jacksonville State, cornerback Marlon Humphrey of Hoover High School and Alabama, inside linebacker C.J. Mosley of Theodore High School and Alabama, outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith of Greenville High School, cornerback Darious Williams of UAB and outside linebacker Tim Williams of Alabama.)
Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce gets a couple of campers started on the 40-yard dash during the Daphne Pro Camp at Trione Park in Daphne, Ala., on Saturday, July 7, 2018.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.