PISCATAWAY – Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano often tells the story of his first interaction with Hollin Pierce, who arrived at the parking lot of the Hale Center back in 2020 weighing close to 400 pounds but hoping for a chance to walk onto the Scarlet Knights .

Pierce, a Trenton native, received that opportunity, but he seemingly faced long odds.

Then he put the work in.

Along the way the 6-foot-8 Pierce worked his way into shape and became a stalwart for an improved Rutgers offensive line, starting 47 total games so far, including the last 23 at left tackle.

Pierce will be among the seniors Rutgers will be honoring during the Scarlet Walk before the Scarlet Knights’ game against No. 24 Illinois on Saturday at SHI Stadium (noon, Peacock).

“Hollin Pierce is a great story,” Schiano said. “As you go through it, as you get to know him, it doesn't surprise you because he works so darned hard, but certainly when you start at the beginning, it’s a surprise. The guy got out of the car in the parking lot during COVID and said he wanted to walk on. I didn't know him from anyone.”

Rutgers football LT Hollin Pierce: 'I took a chance on myself'

Pierce just wanted a shot.

He only started playing organized football his junior year at Trenton Central High School. Then he spent a postgrad year at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia.

Still, Pierce didn’t have much film for recruiters to evaluate.

And his weight didn’t help – Pierce said he reached 455 pounds while he was in high school.

But Pierce still had the ability. Perhaps most importantly, he believed in what he could become.

“I took a chance on myself,” Pierce said “I knew I always had the size. By working out, I showed the coaches, ‘Hey if I can move at this size, what will happen if you help me lose weight?’ It just came together that way. Definitely being a walk on, I just wanted a shot. When I was told I was going to be a walk on, it was the happiest day of my life.”

That day also helped transform the future of Rutgers’ offensive line, while Pierce transformed his body.

“It was really just the food,” Pierce said. “Obviously working out, getting in the gym and cardio and all of that definitely made a big difference with everything. But really the food, that’s when everything came off fast. …Your body has to adjust to putting good nutrients in your body. Eventually you’re so used to it, it just becomes clockwork.”

Pierce dropped weight – he’s now 344 pounds.

Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis: 'I have 100 percent trust in him'

He started 12 games at right tackle in 2021. Pierce had shoulder surgery that kept him out of spring practices in 2022 and limited his training that summer. But he still went on to start all 12 games of the 2022 season at right tackle, then all 13 games at left tackle last season.

Pierce held that role for this season, for good reason.

Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis is now the beneficiary of Pierce’s protection.

“I have 100 percent trust in him,” Kaliakmanis said. “When my eyes are away from that side, I trust in Hollin to hold it down for me. It can be scary looking this way knowing you have guys over here, but with Hollin behind me, I believe in him 100 percent of the time.”

Pierce’s time in a Rutgers uniform is coming to an end.

But his football career?

In some ways that’s still only getting started - he’s one of the top left tackles in the Big Ten.

Schiano’s confident in what will come next.

“Ultimately it's a tremendous surprise, tremendous gift to our program,” Schiano said. “I hope that we gave a lot back to him because he's an NFL lineman now, and we need him to play a few more games for us, and then he's going to go play in the National Football League and I think play for a long time. He's that kind of guy.”