LOOK: Former teammate Emory Jones praises blocking ability of Dameon Pierce

Former Florida Gators’ running back Dameon Pierce has wasted little time in impressing his new teammates and coaches in the National Football League. He’s been performing very well in training camp with the Houston Texans. Pierce has displayed excellent vision as a runner and has demonstrated impressive blocking ability in the passing game. Check out what his old Florida teammate, Emory Jones, had to say about the running back’s blocking ability on Wednesday night.

This man actually loves blocking! Not many like him 💪🏾 https://t.co/qaREC8ukiM

— Emory Jones (@eXjones6) August 17, 2022

Simply put, that’s a textbook block and it’s hard to not get fired up after watching Pierce lay a bone-crushing block like that one.

He created quite the buzz with the Houston Texans in their preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints, rushing for 49 yards on just five carries. The former Florida standout will be competing with Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead for the starting job in Houston for the rest of preseason. Head coach Lovie Smith recently said he’s going to let the competition play itself out.

Pierce is firmly in the mix for the starting job, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep it up and win the job. Plenty of people are excited about his talent and ability, that’s for certain.

Dameon Pierce’s college football career

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 decided to play in the Gasparilla Bowl, despite being invited to the Senior Bowl and trying to prepare for the 2022 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.

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 this offseason, that he’d be surprised if Pierce doesn’t start in his rookie season.

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.

On3’s Ausin Brezina also contributed to this article.