Yhonzae Pierre

The Player

In his third season at Alabama, Pierre is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign after serving primarily as a rotational defender as a freshman. He has appeared in 27 career games with 13 starts, totaling 58 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three forced fumbles, and three passes defended. In 2025, he played all 15 games and finished with 52 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and three forced fumbles.

Pierre has average height with solid bulk, appears to have long arms, and shows impressive straight-line speed. He is a highly versatile edge defender who spends most of his time as a stand-up outside linebacker but has experience on both sides, with his hand in the dirt and working off the ball. He is also comfortable dropping into underneath zone coverage.

His tape is a coaching clinic in discipline and instincts. Pierre plays with excellent gap integrity, locates the football quickly, and consistently gets an early read on developing plays. He stacks and sheds violently, maintains good vision while engaged, and is a powerful tackler who breaks down, wraps up, and drives through contact. His biggest issues against the run come when a 300-plus-pound blocker gets squarely into his pads.

As a pass rusher, Pierre shows a good blend of suddenness, hand strength, and relentlessness. He uses speed-to-power moves effectively to knock tackles backward, then combines quick hands with a good closing burst when his rush plan is executed cleanly. He also runs a tight loop on E-T games and does a good job attacking half a man and working through contact. He can stall when offensive tackles gain leverage into his chest, but his limited number of pure pass-rush opportunities suggests there is still room for significant growth.