Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente announced on Wednesday that Pierson Prioleau has been named Director of Player Development – Defense. A first-team All-BIG EAST selection and a team captain for Frank Beamer as a senior in 1998, Prioleau played an integral role in helping Tech establish itself as a national football power in the 1990s. A four-year letterwinner for the Hokies, the Alvin, South Carolina native enjoyed a 12-year NFL career and earned a Super Bowl XLIV ring with the New Orleans Saints.
"Pierson will serve as a valuable resource for our players and coaches with his experience as a former student-athlete at Virginia Tech, along with his NFL experience and background working in education following his playing career," Fuente said. "Pierson possesses valuable relationships with coaches across our region in addition to lifelong bonds with his former teammates that make him an ideal candidate to serve as an ambassador for our program."
Prioleau has served as defensive coordinator at Radford High School since his retirement from the NFL in 2011. He has also worked as a health and physical education instructor at Belle Heth Elementary School in Radford since 2015. He owns a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Virginia Tech. He also participated in the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program at Northwestern University in 2006 and served a Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship with the St. Louis Rams in 1994.
Inducted as part of the ACC Football Legends Class of 2012, Prioleau was a three-year starter for Beamer and Bud Foster, totaling 237 career tackles and two touchdowns. He was named first-team All-Big East as a junior in 1997 and earned third-team All-America honors from The Sporting News. As a senior, he led a defense that was first in the BIG EAST in scoring defense, allowing just 12.9 points per game.
A fourth-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1999 NFL Draft, Prioleau played in 160 career regular season games (50 starts) with San Francisco (1999-00), Buffalo (2001-04), Washington (2005-07), Jacksonville (2008) and New Orleans (2009-10), accumulating 446 total tackles (348 solo), one interception, one safety and four fumble recoveries.
He and his wife, Alcia, are parents of sons PJ, Pace and Parker.