Pepe Pearson facts for kids

Pepe Pearson (born December 11, 1975) is a former American football player. He was a tailback for the Ohio State Buckeyes in college. Today, he is a coach for the Tarleton State Texans. He coaches the running backs.

Playing Football: College and Pro Years

Pepe Pearson played football for Ohio State for four years. He was a great runner for the team. He is the ninth best rusher in the school's history. He gained over 3,100 yards during his college career. In one amazing season, he ran for 1,484 yards. This is the tenth highest season total for a player at Ohio State. He also had a fantastic game against Notre Dame in 1996, rushing for 173 yards.

Pearson helped Ohio State play in four bowl games. These were from 1994 to 1997. One big win was the 1997 Rose Bowl in 1997. As a junior, he gained 1,484 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. He was named to the All-Big Ten team. He was also chosen as the team's Most Valuable Player (MVP).

After college, Pearson played in the National Football League (NFL). He played for teams like the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers. His biggest success came in NFL Europe. He scored the winning touchdown for the Rhein Fire. This helped them win the 2000 World Bowl Championship.

Coaching Football: From College to Today

After his playing days, Pepe Pearson started coaching. From 2004 to 2014, he was a running backs coach. He worked at Ohio Dominican University. In 2005, he was also the head coach for the Daytona Beach Hawgs. This team was in the National Indoor Football League. He led them to the playoffs.

Pearson also coached the Marion Mayhem in the Continental Indoor Football League. In 2015, he joined Youngstown State. He was their running backs coach. His team had a great year, rushing for over 2,000 yards. In 2016, he moved to Marshall. He coached their running backs there for five seasons.

In May 2021, Pearson became the running backs coach at Tennessee State University. He helped many running backs at Marshall become successful. For example, Brenden Knox was named Conference USA's Most Valuable Player in 2019. He rushed for 1,387 yards and 11 touchdowns. Keion Davis was named MVP of the Gasparilla Bowl in 2018. He rushed for 94 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Pearson helped Marshall win two bowl games. These were the 2017 New Mexico Bowl and the 2018 Gasparilla Bowl. He also helped Marshall win the 2020 Conference USA East Division Championship. They reached the 2020 Conference USA Football Championship Game.

At Ohio Dominican, Pearson helped running back Brandon Schoen. Schoen became the school's all-time leading rusher. In 2013, Pearson coached two players who each ran for over 1,000 yards. This was a first for the school. He also coached Mike Noffsinger. Noffsinger was a semifinalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy. This award goes to the best Division II players.

For his last four seasons at Ohio Dominican, Pearson also coached special teams. Since 2023, he has been the associate head coach and running backs coach for the Tarleton State Texans.