Former Florida star Dameon Pierce to wear No. 31 for Texans

Plenty of analysts out there are excited about the potential for former Florida Gator star Dameon Pierce in his new home in the NFL–the Houston Texans. His new jersey number with the Houston Texans was revealed on Wednesday by Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network — Pierce will wear No. 31. He wore No. 27 during his college football career with Florida.

The Houston Texans selected the former Gator in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the 107th overall selection.

In his first two years with Florida, he played in 25 games as a backup, rushing for 729 yards and six touchdowns. Pierce became the starting running back for the Gators in 2020 and led the team in rushing with 503 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

In 2021, he only started one game, but led the team in rushing touchdowns with 13 on the ground. He also scored another three receiving touchdowns last season. While his production was excellent, he didn’t receive the usage on offense that some analysts felt he deserved.

Pierce cemented himself as a fan-favorite at Florida with a quote he gave during a press conference ahead of Florida’s bowl game last year. He was asked why he was playing in the Gasparilla Bowl, despite being invited to the Senior Bowl and preparing for the upcoming NFL draft.

“Why? Because I’m a Gator, bro,” said Pierce. “When I signed here, I signed for four good years, get my education and I’m going to rock out that way until I die, you know.”

He also won over fans and media alike with this play, when he lost his helmet against the Florida State Seminoles inside the five-yard line, but still proceeded to plow through defenders and score.

Pierce was a former four-star recruit according to the On3 Consensus rankings, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He played high school football at Bainbridge in Georgia, joining the Gators as the 16th-ranked running back in the nation in the 2018 class.

What NFL draft analysts are saying about Dameon Pierce

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein noted that Pierce is an incredibly tough to tackle runner, with an explosive power to his runs. His strength running the ball and ability to create yardage after contact is part of why Zierlein believes Pierce could develop into a starting running back for a team, even if he’s not quite at that level yet. However, Pierce could fit into another type of situation much quicker.

“Pierce was highly productive (16 total touchdowns) in 2021 despite an embarrassingly low usage rate by the coaching staff,” said Zierlein. “He has plenty of tread left on the tires and fits into any run-blocking scheme as a quality future starter or member of a running back tandem.”

Per Pro Football Focus, Pierce had a PFF grade of 92.0 last season–good enough for first amongst all running backs in college football. Former Texans’ veteran reporter for the Houston Chronicle, John McClain, said on Twitter a few days ago that he’d be surprised if Pierce doesn’t start in his rookie season.

On3’s Ausin Brezina also contributed to this article.