Temple's Pierce honored by Phil Steele

CLEVELAND – Temple junior RB Bernard Pierce  has been named a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele.

The national football writer also recognized nine Owls for All-MAC honors. Named to the first team were Pierce, senior TE Evan Rodriguez (North Bergen, N.J.), senior DE Adrian Robinson (Harrisburg, Pa.) and senior LB Tahir Whitehead (Newark, N.J.).

Named to the second team were senior OL Pat Boyle (Towson, Md.) and junior P Brandon McManus (Hatfield, Pa.).

Third-team honorees were senior DE Morkeith Brown (Harrisburg, Pa.), senior LB Stephen Johnson (Norristown, Pa.), and junior KOR Matt Brown (Baltimore, Md.).

Temple (8-4 overall, 5-3 MAC) faces Wyoming (8-4, 5-2 MWC) in the 2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 17 at Noon MT (2 p.m. ET) at University Stadium.  ESPN will televise the game live in HD.