It’s seems odd referring to Pierson Prioleau as an old man – after all, he just turned 31 years old.
But he stands as the oldest and longest-tenured of all the former Hokies actively playing in the NFL these days.
Prioleau, a former cornerback, rover and All-American here at Tech, continues to find a way of playing the game he loves in the best league in the world. After his contract with the Washington Redskins expired last season, he thought about hanging up his uniform and dreams for the last time. But the Jacksonville Jaguars hired former Washington defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, and Williams talked Jags officials into bringing Prioleau aboard as a reserve safety and a special teams participant.
“My contract was up with Washington, so I was feeling around my options,” Prioleau said. “I wanted to go somewhere where I could be a leader on and off the field. Coach Williams convinced me to come down and it’s been good so far.”
Prioleau thus is participating in his 10th season in the NFL, and the Jaguars mark his fourth team. He played two seasons in San Francisco after the 49ers drafted him in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft and started 11 games in those two years. He signed with Buffalo in 2001 – and has played for Williams every year but one since then. Williams served as the head coach in Buffalo, and after getting fired from there, he signed on with the Redskins to work under Joe Gibbs. Prioleau spent four seasons in Buffalo and three seasons in Washington.
So how does a 5-foot-11, 190-pounder survive in the NFL after all those years? It’s simple – by listening.
“First of all, I have to thank God because I’ve only had one serious injury (a torn ACL suffered with Washington on the opening kickoff of the 2006 season),” Prioleau said. “But when I got drafted by San Francisco, I was fortunate because we had a lot of older guys there – guys like Jerry Rice and Steve Young and Merton Hanks. They told me how to take care of my body and I listened to them.
“There was another guy there – Tim McDonald. He was a safety and he was at the tail end of his career. He really taught me a lot. As a younger guy, you tend to take things for granted. But he taught me a lot about the game and how to approach the game and how to take care of myself. He played as an older guy and he played effectively. That always stuck with me.”
Prioleau has enjoyed a nice career in football. He arrived at Tech as a little known recruit from the low country of South Carolina (near Charleston) and became an All-American his junior season. He then got drafted following his senior season and has spent the past decade in the NFL.
“I’ve been blessed,” he said. “I can’t say I’m surprised. I knew it would be tough, but I’ve never taken anything for granted. It’s hard to have longevity in the NFL. I never take any day in the NFL for granted.”
In the offseason, Prioleau is never far from Blacksburg. He makes his offseason home in Radford, where his wife grew up. The two of them have two boys and they used to live near the Pete Dye River Course. But they recently sold that house and are currently building a residence on a rural piece of property not far from Radford.
“This is the first year I’ve been away from them,” Prioleau said of his family. “But my son was starting kindergarten and I didn’t want to move him, and we’re building a house, so it’s good that my wife is up there and can handle all that.
“Plus, I only signed a one-year contract here. I’m not sure where my career is headed after this year. So I didn’t want to move my family down here and then have to maybe move again. But I’m able to catch up with them on weekends. After this season, we’ll just have to see what happens.”
Prioleau hopes to get into coaching after his playing career ends. He already volunteers at local high schools, and coaching would allow him to remain in the game.
“I think there could be an opportunity on this level [the NFL],” he said. “My boy, [Anthony] Midget, got that job at Georgia State, and I told him I wish I had known. I would have shut it down and gone to grad school there to help him out.
“I’m always teasing Coach Cav [Jim Cavanaugh], too, to give me a heads up on when he’s going to retire. I’ll just move right on in. It would be a dream job to be at Tech. Tech is a big part of the reason why I’m where I’m at today.”
For now, though, he’s focusing on his role with the Jaguars and helping them to snag a playoff berth. Prioleau has participated in the playoffs on two occasions – both with the Redskins – but he never has played beyond the second round. The Jaguars field a good team and stand as a sleeper pick in the difficult AFC, so he may get a shot to go deep into the playoffs.
And if this were to be his last year, it would be a fitting end if he could do so.
“That’s probably the one part of my career I’m missing out on,” he said. “We went twice in Washington and that was a lot of fun. But now maybe I’ll get to experience something a little bigger. That would be great.”
