There hasn’t been a whole lot of consistency with the 2021 Gators football team.
The offensive line started the year looking like one of the best units in the country after they pushed Alabama and Tennessee around Spurrier-Florida Field. Then they committed a bunch of false start penalties at Kentucky and only paved the way for 82 rushing yards against South Carolina.
Quarterbacks Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson both have had a couple of record-breaking performances this season and several really bad games with multiple turnovers.
Defensively, the front-seven held four of their first six opponents to under 100 rushing yards. They’ve now given up 798 yards in their last three SEC games.
The secondary had held five straight opponents to less than 200 passing yards before allowing Samford’s Liam Welch to throw for 400 yards last week.
Through it all, running back Dameon Pierce has been the one person that the Gators can rely on. He leads the running backs with 68 carries for 448 yards, and he’s also caught 18 passes for 217 yards. He’s averaging 7.7 yards per touch. He ranks third in the SEC with 13 total touchdowns, and he’s received far fewer touches than the two players ahead of him, Missouri’s Tyler Badie and Alabama’s Brian Robinson.
“We know that we can give him the ball, and he’s definitely going to fight to get the first down, and he’s definitely a great kid,” left tackle Richard Gouraige said. “Comes in every day and works hard. Glad to have him as a teammate.”
Wide receiver Ja’Markis Weston had a more succinct way to describe Pierce.
“His work ethic is very impressive,” he said. “The man’s athletic. He’s athletic as hell. I can’t even explain.”
However, Pierce brings far more to the Gators than just a bruising running style and a bunch of touchdowns. He also brings an always-upbeat personality and a joy for the game to the practice field and to the locker room. It’s hard for guys not to play their hardest when they see how Pierce goes about his business.
“He’s a brother, and he brings great energy to the team, and there’s never a problem with him,” Weston said. “He’s a senior. He’s always on top of his stuff, doing what he’s got to do, showing the younger kids such as myself the role.
“He has [been a steadying force], actually, keeping us, making sure we have our head held high, being positive about everything, keeping a smile on our face. That’s the most important thing.”
Fans have loudly voiced their opinions about Pierce needing to touch the ball more than the 8.6 touches per game that he’s averaging this season.
Pierce hasn’t gotten caught up in that, though. He’s just focusing on playing his absolute hardest every single time that he’s on the field, whether it’s a practice or a game.
“I’m perfect with my role on this team,” Pierce said after the Samford game. “I’m going to contribute any way I can. When I’m on the field, I’m going to play my heart out.”
That team-first mindset has provided his younger teammates with an example of how to work as hard as possible regardless of how the season is going or what people are saying about you.
“I think he does a great job of setting an example of a guy that just worries about playing hard, worrying about being the best that you can be,” coach Dan Mullen said. “If you look at what he’s done from his ability, coming in as a freshman and playing on special teams, playing on offense. Throughout his entire career, he’s been an extremely consistent performer for us. He brings a lot of high energy every day to practice, performs on the field running the ball, performs catching the ball out of the backfield, a great blocker when we need him to be a great blocker, and he’s a really good special teams player.
“I just think it kind of teaches guys a professionalism, of an approach that you can take of a guy that is all about the team, all about going to work hard and give his best everything that he does and not worry about silly things that people get caught up in that aren’t relevant in your improvement as a player and how you’re helping the team to be successful.”
It would be easy for the Gators’ offense to give up on this season and start making holiday plans, but Pierce is the glue that’s holding them together.
“Usually after every play [in practice], Coach will usually throw a white towel,” Gouraige said. “We always see Dameon Pierce just finishing all the way through before the towel’s even [thrown]. So, that really shows that he’s taking at least game reps and finishing through the whistle instead of just half-speed. He’s finishing through, so that’s what’s really cool to see, a player like him finishing through on stuff.
“He works hard. He comes in every day, motivates everybody here at practice, even though, some days, he feels a little sluggish. He just encourages us to keep working. He’s a great leader on this team, and I’m glad that he’s part of my team and he’s my teammate.”
Where would the Gators be without him?