Gators’ Dameon Pierce Fulfills ‘Lifelong Dream,’ Drafted by the Texans
Photo: Dameon Pierce; Credit: Zach Goodall
This past weekend was a special one for a few former Florida Gators football players as they were able to see their dreams of becoming NFL players fulfilled, being drafted into the league over a three-day period filled with suspense, anxiety and excitement.
For former Gators running back Dameon Pierce, those are exactly the emotions he felt, selected in the fourth round (pick No. 107) by the Houston Texans on Saturday.
He made it, and after hard work and dedication over the last four years at Florida and now to finally achieve what he was seeking, he was all smiles when meeting with the local Houston Texans media shortly after his selection.
"This whole process is crazy," Pierce said, noting that his phone was blowing up, likely being texted and called by friends and family alike. "Everybody who does this sport, this is like their lifelong dream. This is definitely something crossed off the bucket list for me."
Pierce, 22, spent four years at Florida after arriving on campus in 2018 from the small town of Bainbridge (Ga). He would take to the Florida backfield by storm quickly during his freshman year in a rotational offense, accounting for 424 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In his career, Pierce accounted for 1,806 yards on 329 carries and 23 touchdowns.
His tone-setting, high-energy, vicious running style is ultimately what made him such an intriguing selection for any team this draft cycle. He's exactly the fit that Texans general manager Nick Caserio was looking for.
"He plays with a lot of joy. He plays with a lot of fight. He plays with a lot of toughness, and his personality, I would say, transfers over to the football field. Kind of played a little bit of rotation down there at Florida this year, so they had him and another back," Caserio said on April 30 when asked about Pierce, referring to the RB rotation Florida deployed during Pierce's playing career there.
"Talking about a guy that's 5'9", 217 pounds that's built strong, low to the ground, has good contact balance, good lower body strength, good lateral quickness, maybe lacks a little top-end speed and has decent hands."
Pierce was heavily rotated in, which ultimately sparked some controversy in Gainesville last year. He would finish the year with just 100 carries but ran for 574 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns. Finding the tackle box, Pierce said, was always a goal of his.
"I don't go on the field thinking I'm not gonna get in the box," he said with a laugh.
With Pierce's usage rate, he feels he will fit into NFL schemes quite well, able to play in the role of running back by committee that the NFL utilizes a lot more these days. Having lesser usage in his years at Florida allowed him to enter the NFL fresher. He was able to remain incredibly productive and was used on special teams, too.
"For me, it was just about getting to the NFL, making that 53 [man roster]," Pierce explained. "That usage rate, really, it can kinda be hit or miss, you know what I'm saying? So, in my case it was a hit, so I'm just glad to be here."
Growing up, Pierce says would take bits and pieces of other players that were in the league, like Hall of Fame runner LaDainian Tomilson and current free agent Todd Gurley, two players with different rushing styles, but were excellent in their own way during their time. For Pierce, he wanted to take that and make his own running style, a violent runner who has plenty of agility to make players miss at the line of scrimmage.
"I kinda took bits and pieces from everybody's game and kind of mold it into my own running style, which is kind of violent, I don't run with good intentions," Pierce expressed. "I like to fight for my yards, I like to fight for my yards, I like to punish DBs, I like to punish the defense. I don't like taking hits, I like giving hits."
Now, Pierce will get an opportunity to do just that in the AFC South, a division that is built on violent rushing styles, including those from Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry and Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor.
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