Former South Dakota State and current New England Patriots running back Pierre Strong requested a meeting with his coach John Stiegelmeier following the 2021 season. They talked about a number of things, including the obvious goal for Strong: He wanted, desperately, to make it in the NFL. That was no surprise. Stiegelmeier had witnessed Strong changing his body and working long and tireless hours in the summer before his senior season with the plan of making the pros.
But then he confided something else in Stiegelmeier.
“Honestly, he was real about money issues and maybe having more money than he dreamt about having and how to act — how to deal with that,” Stiegelmeier told Patriots Wire by phone. “I thought for a young man that has a lot of pride and a lot of confidence for him to open up like that, it really showed a neat side of him.”
