2022 NFL Scouting Combine: Florida Gators RB Dameon Pierce Has Solid Outing

Florida Gators running back Dameon Pierce competes at the NFL Scouting Combine, putting on a solid performance.

Photo: Dameon Pierce; Credit: Alex Shepherd

A man of many words, Florida Gators running back Dameon Pierce didn't let anyone down during his participation in the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis (Ind.) earlier this week.

One moment that will be remembered for quite some time occurred during the weight-lifting portion of the event for running backs on Friday. While attempting the 225-pound lift, Pierce paused in the middle of one of his final repetitions, yelling at the spotter to not touch his weights in order to assist him.

"Don't take that [bleep]," Pierce said. He would go on to record 21 repetitions, good for the third-most among running backs, tied with South Carolina's Kevin Harris.

Dameon Pierce: “Don’t take that b*tch”

21 reps on the bench press pic.twitter.com/e2LvHQ4GLG

— Kassidy Hill (@KassidyGHill) March 4, 2022

As for the rest of the combine for Pierce, he would score around the average for a back of his size, 5-foot-9, 218 pounds. According to MathBomb on Twitter, Pierce's RAS (relative athletic score) would grade in at 6.6 out of a possible 10.00. It grades out as the No. 517 out of a possible 1,519 running backs from 1987 to 2022.

Dameon Pierce is a RB prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored an unofficial 6.6 RAS at the Combine out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 517 out of 1519 RB from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/8Kp2CJOdVD #RAS via @Mathbomb pic.twitter.com/Yixcke2day

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 5, 2022

In speed testing, Pierce looked about as expected, running a 4.59 40-yard dash. Though he likely would have wanted to test higher, Pierce's ability and athleticism didn't necessarily come from his long speed, rather his explosiveness, and ability to hit a hole quickly and aggressively.

That showed up during his explosion test, the vertical and broad jumps grading out as "good," according to his RAS. He would jump 34.5 inches and over nine feet in his broad jump. Though not the greatest athlete of all time, these numbers shouldn't do anything to hurt Pierce's growing stock.

During his time at Florida, Pierce became one of the best backs in its backfield, able to make players miss while running over them at the same time.

In four years at Florida, Pierce carried the ball 329 times for 1,806 yards and 23 touchdowns. He would catch 45 passes for 422 yards and five scores as well. Pierce wouldn't become one of the work-horse backs for Florida until his junior season when he carried the ball 106 times for 503 yards and four scores.

During his senior season, Pierce drew plenty of praise while Florida coaches got plenty of criticism due to his usage. He would carry the ball only 100 times, rushing for 574 yards, an average of 5.7 yards per carry. He would score 13 rushing touchdowns.

Don't be surprised to see Pierce drafted within the top four rounds of this year's draft, mostly due to his immense potential and ability to become a great rotational back or work-horse for many teams in the league.

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