Biography
• At Navy: Enters the fall as a starter at outside linebacker ... a starter in each of the last 21 games dating back to his sophomore season (0 Fr // 8 So // 13 Jr) ... has earned 2 varsity letters.
• 2024: A starter in every game, he stood 4th on the team in tackles (68), 3rd in tackles for loss (6) and had 2.5 sacks ... additionally, he recorded 5 QB hurries, an interception, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble ... registered 4 tackles in Navy’s Armed Forces Bowl victory over Oklahoma ... Navy’s defense snapped Army QB Bryson Daily’s school-record 10-consecutive games with 100 yards rushing, by holding him to a season-low 52 yards rushing ... held Army, who came into the game ranked #1 in the FBS averaging 314.4 rushing yards per game, to just 113 yards on the ground ... it was the Black Knights’ fewest rushing yards in the rivalry game since Dec. 12, 2009, when they carried the ball 40 times for 110 yards on the ground ... also held Army without a rushing touchdown for the first time all year ... held Army to its fewest points (13) in a game in 2024 ... chipped in 4 tackles and made his first-career interception in the win over #19 Army ... recorded 4 tackles in the road win over East Carolina ... produced 7 tackles against #25 Tulane ... led Navy with a career-high tying 9 tackles, including half a tackle for loss in the win at USF ... turned in 5 tackles and broke up a pass at Rice ... produced 6 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a half a sack against #12 Notre Dame ... recorded 6 tackles, including a tackle for loss in the Mids’ Homecoming win over Charlotte ... part of a defensive unit that limited Air Force to 7 points and 273 total yards ... the 7 points scored by Air Force were the fewest it has scored at home against Navy and the 27-point win was Navy’s largest margin of victory over Air Force since 1978 ... posted 3 tackles at UAB ... turned in 7 tackles and had 3 QB hurries against Memphis ... posted 5 tackles, including half a tackle for loss in the win over Temple in the AAC opener ... recorded 8 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, forced a fumble and recovered it in the Mids’ season-opening win over Bucknell.
• 2023: A starter in 8 of the 12 contests in which he played (the final 8) ... despite seeing limited action in the Mids’ first 3 contests, he led the team in tackles for loss (10) and shared the lead in sacks (4.5) ... totaled 62 tackles, 3 pass breakups, 3 fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and a safety ... Pirris and teammate Justin Reed are tied for 5th in the nation in fumble recoveries with 3 ... turned in a career-high tying 9 tackles, including a sack and tackle for loss against Army, while also being credited for the safety against the Black Knights ... posted 4 tackles at SMU ... helped lead Navy to a 10-0 win over East Carolina and its third shutout of the season which is the most in the FBS this season ... it’s the first time Navy has recorded 3 shutouts in a season since 1978 when the Mids shut out 4 teams (Virginia, Connecticut, William & Mary, Army) ... it also marked the 4th team Navy held without a touchdown this season (Wagner 0 pts, Charlotte 0 pts, UAB 2FGs, ECU 0 pts) ... held the Pirates to just 189 yards of total offense, the fewest by a Navy opponent this season ... tallied 6 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss against ECU ... the 6 points scored by UAB were its fewest since dropping a 49-6 decision to Florida Atlantic on Dec. 7, 2019 ... that was also the last time the Blazers did not score a touchdown ... produced 7 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a half a sack against the Blazers ... recorded 5 tackles and recovered his 3rd fumble of the season in the Mids’ road loss at Temple ... part of a defensive effort that held the nation’s leader in rushing, Air Force (334.2 yds/gm), to just 137 yards, while also holding the Falcons to just 1 of 13 (.077) on third downs after coming into the game #1 in the country (.594) ... recorded 4 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss against Air Force ... Navy’s defense recorded its second shutout of the season with a 14-0 win over Charlotte ... the Mids held the 49ers to just 265 yards of total offense (123R/142P), while Navy posted 7 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, broke up 6 passes and force 3 turnovers (2 INT, 1 fumble) ... turned in 8 tackles at Charlotte, along with a sack, tackle for loss and broke up a pass ... part of a defense that recorded a school-record 8 sacks and posted 10 tackles for loss in the win over North Texas ... the defense also forced and recovered 2 fumbles ... garnered AAC Defensive Player of the Week honors (Oct. 9) following his performance against North Texas ... making his first-collegiate start, he turned in a career-high 9 tackles, including 7 solo stops against the Mean Green ... also had a sack and tackle for a loss of 18 yards, a forced fumble and fumble recovery ... it’s the second-consecutive game McDonald has sacked the QB and forced the fumble that Pirris also came up with ... sacked Rogers for a loss of 18 yards and forced the ball loose (7:13, 4Qtr) ... it was recovered by teammate Colin Ramos at the North Texas 21 ... it was the first-career forced fumble by Pirris the defense held USF quarterback Byrum Brown (ranked #1 among QB’s in yards per game at 87.8) to -27 yards on the ground, but gave up 338 yards and 3 TDs through the air ... had a phenomenal individual performance against the Bulls where he posted career highs in tackles (6), tackles for loss (2.5), sacks (1), pass breakups (2) and fumble recoveries (1) ... chipped in a tackle against Memphis in the AAC opener ... turned in a pair of tackles in the win over Wagner ... recorded his first-collegiate tackle in the Mids’ opener against Notre Dame.
• 2022: Made his collegiate debut against Tulsa (1 play).
• High School / Personal: A 2022 graduate of Ponte Vedra High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Pirris was a two-sport athlete who earned letters in basketball and football ... garnered All-State (Fla.) football recognition as a junior and senior ... served as football team captain his senior year ... one of five basketball players in Ponte Vedra HS history to score 1,000 points ... led Ponte Vedra HS to the state championship game in basketball his senior year ... member of the National Honor Society ... also received offers from Army and Air Force ... his high school basketball coach was Kevin Whirity, a 2003 graduate of the Naval Academy who played basketball for the Mids ... father, John, is a 1992 graduate of Notre Dame where he was a member of the wrestling team ... brothers, Nick (2019) and JD (2017, ‘18, ‘19), were members of the Mercer football team ... son of John and Dawne Pirris ... majoring in operations research.
