Cal Edge Joshua Pierce Had A Long Journey To Get To Berkeley

The edge rusher took the long road from Campbell University to Berkeley, and he's not taking a moment of it for granted.

Joshua Pierce wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school. One year of senior film wasn’t enough to generate much buzz, so he went to Campbell University and got to work.

“Recruitment wasn’t really high for me because of that one year. But I just kept my head down and worked and ended up at this prestigious university. Glad to be here.”

The coaching staff at Cal has accelerated his development in ways he didn’t anticipate.

“I’ve seen my game grow a lot under all the coaches I’ve been under. I’m glad to be under Coach Barraza, Coach Tosh, Coach Darrion Daniels, Coach Ed [McGilvra]. I’ve learned a lot just this spring and I’m just grateful for my process and how I’ve been growing each year.”

Lupoi’s approach left an impression from the first visit.

“He’s an energetic, loving person. I feel like I’ve never had a head coach like Tosh. He’s always willing to push you every day. He’s a headbanger coach. On my visit, Tosh explained to me this is his MO. Success here is just depending on how hard I want to work. He told me to put my head down and work and I’d like the result.”

Lorenzo Alexander, who joined the staff recently, has already made his mark on the edge group.

“Coach Zo has been a great guy, just pushing me every day to get better at the edge and be able to provide for the team this year.”

Pierce describes his own game around length and speed, and going against different tackle types daily has sharpened both.

“I’m a long arm guy. I love speed, I love long arms. Just testing on different tackles each day and getting better and repeating.”

The edge unit is almost entirely new to the program, and Pierce says the group has been intentional about building something off the field first.

“We’re big on brotherhood. We recently went to dinner, just our unit. Our bond will transfer to the field. Staying together every day, bonding and jelling together will help us click faster on the field, make plays, fly around together and be able to trust each other.”