cover2 has been ringing the bells for Pierce way before anyone else on this board as i recall.
I attended nearly every home game that the 3 greatest RBs and the 2 greatest QBs UF ever had played in. Emmitt is my all time favorite Gator great.
With the exception of Smith, and maybe Rhett, those guys spent their freshman seasons in largely supporting roles, yet still managed to impact games in big ways. And you could tell when they all were freshmen that bigger things were coming. In the case of Smith and Rhett, they were on less talented squads as freshmen that sorely needed their contributions.
Perine and Scarlett are deeper into the playbook than Pierce, they are good RBs, and they are older, so he is in the same place other greats started from. Nevertheless, his teammates say he is a great learner and picking things up like a sponge. And, like Tim, he's considered one of the strongest players on the team. And like Smith and 1992 Eric Rhett, he is on a team with a little less talent across the board than other Gator squads.
We need a spark.
Pierce has it.
A lot of his HS stats parallel Smith's. Both rushed for over 2000 yds in a season twice. Smith averaged 7.8 ypc, Pierce averaged 7.2 ypc. Both fumbled six times in HS. Smith scored 106 TDs, Pierce 95. Smith played in 49 games, Pierce in 46. Smith averaged 2.16 TDs a game, Pierce 2.06.
Smith had 8804 yds on 1144 rushing attempts, Pierce had 6779 on 942 rushing attempts. If you give Pierce the extra 202 carries Smith got in HS at Pierce's 7.2 ypc avg, and also add in the 571 yds Pierce got receiving in HS, his totals from scrimmage come out to, I kid you not, 8804 yards. 8804.4 to be precise.
If Dan can find a way in his offense to exploit Pierce's mix of measureables and intangibles, Pierce can be a great one. Sadly, I'm not convinced this offense is built for a showcase RB. It's built for a showcase QB.
