2017 Game Program Senior Feature: De'Mornay Pierson-El

De’Mornay Pierson-El dreamed of playing college football for a big-time program. He didn’t know that would be Nebraska until he visited Lincoln with his sister during his senior year of high school.

“She fell in love with the place, too,” Pierson-El said. “We hit that ‘a-ha’ moment at the same time - that Nebraska was the fit for me.”

A native of Alexandria, Va., Pierson-El didn’t grow up in the atmosphere of Nebraska football. However, it didn’t take long for him to feel at home. During the first week of practice his freshman year, the wide receiver caught a pass and hurdled his defender, staying on his feet and scoring a touchdown.

“I turned around and saw Randy Gregory running 60 yards to the end zone where I was at and Kenny Bell wasn’t too far behind,” Pierson-El said. “He came in for a chest bump. To have two respected guys go out of their way to congratulate me was unreal. The rest was history after that day.”

Pierson-El made an immediate impact as a freshman, playing in every finishing with 23 catches for 321 yards and one touchdown. He added 34 punt returns for a nation-leading 596 yards and three touchdowns.

“Not everyone gets to play as a true freshman, but for me to come in and play with the staff and have them believe that I could do what I did my freshman year meant everything to me,” Pierson-El said.

In his freshman season, Pierson-El earned All-America honors at punt returner, recorded a 62-yard touchdown return at Michigan State and had stats that had topped the charts nationally.

His football career was on the rise until the middle of his sophomore season when he suffered an injury. One major thing that helped him through that time was prayer.

“There were a lot of dark days, but every day has some good in it,” Pierson-El said. “I looked at the good within the bad and focused on that. I tried not to be negative about things. I knew it would take time but I had to be prepared. I put my best foot forward everyday just to get better and get back on the field.”
As a junior, Pierson-El came back strong. In the second game of the season, he had a key 45-yard punt return against Oregon. He only improved from there, racking up a season-high five receptions for 49 yards in the bowl game against Tennessee.

Pierson-El is poised to join the Huskers’ 1,000-yard receiving club soon. He also has 812 career punt return yards to rank fifth in school history and is just 188 yards from becoming the third player in NU history with 1,000 punt return yards. As for the future, Pierson-El hopes to continue to make his mark on the football field.

“The NFL is the next step, and the dream I’m chasing,” Pierson-El said. “Hopefully I have the opportunity to pursue that and make the best out of that.”

For now, he looks to finish a successful season with a team who has become his family, in a city that is more than just a place to play football.

“Playing for Nebraska has been a dream come true,” Pierson-El said. “Growing up, I wanted to go to a place where you can be at your best and have a good support system around you when you’re away from your family. That’s what Nebraska has been.”