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Banking that a redshirt season has paid off, Beau is battling for the quarterback job. Pierce joined the Spartans last fall after one season at Allan Hancock College (Coach Barney Eames). At the junior college level, he quarterbacked his school to a Western State Bowl championship and was rated the top California community college prospect for 2001 by jcfootball.com. The graduate of St. Joseph's High School in Santa Maria, Calif., lettered in football (Coach Lance Fauria), basketball and golf. As a senior, he passed for 2,178 yards and 27 touchdowns. He is interested in pursuing a career as a strength and conditioning coach. His dad, Bill Pierce, was a nose guard on the 1973 University of the Pacific football team. Beau was born in Burbank, Calif., on September 11, 1982.