Pierce expands offensive role
Freshman emerges as Gators target Seminoles to end regular season
Florida’s Dameon Pierce,
GAINESVILLE Dameon Pierce caught his first touchdown pass as a Gator on Saturday. The freshman running back ran an ordinary route to the flat from Idaho’s 4-yard line. He caught an ordinary pass from quarterback Emory Jones.
His celebration? Also ordinary. He handed the ball to the referee after jumping into teammates.
So it may have surprised Florida fans when, during a postgame press conference, Pierce struck a unique tone. Rather than talking about his performance — a season-high 13 carries for 77 yards — he instead hyped up his teammates.
“According to me, my dog balled,” Pierce said of Jones’ performance.
Pierce’s presence in the spotlight could soon become normal for the Gators. The Bainbridge, Ga., native has worked his way into a prominent role in a crowded UF backfield. He’s the team’s No. 3 rusher with 410 yards on 59 carries. Compared to last season’s freshman sensation Malik Davis and his 526 yards, Pierce is in good company.
Entering No. 11 UF’s (8-3) rivalry game with Florida State (5-6) Saturday, routine plays have put Pierce in a position to play. The UF early enrollee said the extra time he had to learn the offense played a pivotal role in his development.
“If I didn’t come early, I don’t think I’d be talking to you on this podium right now,” Pierce said after the Idaho game. “The transition from high school — the high school playbook to a college playbook — is by far one of the most hardest things I had to endure in my athletic career… Learning that was the biggest transition.”
At least one teammate — right guard Fred Johnson — claims Pierce can squat 600 pounds without breaking a sweat. But to Pierce, that’s ordinary.
“That’s just baby weight, you feel me?” he quipped. “I’m from South Georgia. That’s all we do: lift weights and play football.
“When you out there in the country, dawg, you out there playing football in bare feet, just doing dumb stuff, throwing dirt rocks at each other.”
Pierce was a little torn on where to go to college. He’d been committed to Alabama from July 2016 to May 2017 before re-opening his recruitment process. He then committed to Florida in August 2017, a month before then-coach Jim McElwain’s final season began. When McElwain was fired, new coach Dan Mullen worked to keep Pierce.
Pierce was visit No. 1 for Mullen, who went up to Georgia to see him. Pierce said that face-to-face time with Mullen reaffirmed his commitment to UF.
“When Coach Mullen came and sat in my living room, he told me I’m going to work harder than I ever have in my life,” Pierce said. “If you want to live up to that challenge, it’s up to you. From that moment forward I wanted to play for him.”
GOLF: Three-time major champ Vijay Singh settled his lawsuit against the PGA Tour over the way it investigated his use of deer antler spray. The settlement ends five years of litigation, less than a week before the case was to go to trial in New York. Singh, 55, said in a Sports Illustrated article in early 2013 that he used deer antler spray. The tour sent a sample of it from Singh to be tested, and it returned small amounts of IGF-1, which was on the banned substance list. Two months after the tour told Singh he was being suspended for three months, it announced it was dropping the case because of new information on deer antler spray. Singh claimed in his lawsuit the tour exposed him to ridicule.
SOCCER: Ireland fired Martin O’Neill as its coach after five years. Under O’Neill, Ireland advanced from the group stage at the 2016 European championship for the first time, but fell short of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup after a playoff loss to Denmark. Assistant coach Roy Keane also was fired.
TENNIS: Italy’s Daniele Bracciali and Potito Starace were banned for match-fixing at a 2011 ATP event. Bracciali, 40, who was still an active player, was banned for life and fined $250,000. Starace, 37, who’s retired, was banned from any future involvement in the sport for 10 years and fined $100,000. As a doubles team, they reached the 2012 French Open semifinals.