The Texans have agreed to terms on a four-year contract with fourth-round running back Dameon Pierce, according to a league source.
Pierce excelled at the Senior Bowl all-star game.
He rushed for 574 yards and 13 touchdowns last season as he averaged 5.7 yards per carry and caught 19 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns.
As a junior, he rushed for 503 yards and four touchdowns and caught 17 passes for 156 yards and one score.
"He plays with a lot of joy," Texans general manager Nick Caserio said during the draft. "He plays with a lot of fight. He plays with a lot of toughness, and his personality, I would say, transfers over to the football field."
The Georgia native rushed for 6,779 yards and scored 92 touchdowns in high school.
As a sophomore, he rushed for 305 yards and four scores. As a freshman, he rushed for 424 yards and two touchdowns for the Gators.
Green, 5-10, 218 pounds, has run the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds with a 34 1/2 inch vertical leap and bench pressed 225 pounds 21 times.
"I would say in Dameon's situation, I think he'll have an opportunity," Caserio said. "I don't think this is going to be all about offense and who is going to carry the ball, and he is going to be lead runner. That's a bunch of BS. I think he has to earn his opportunity on the team and create a role for himself, and I think his ability to potentially play on four downs is probably what's more important than any particular thing about how many yards he is going to run for in early downs. We have a lot of good backs in this building, and I would say he is a part of that group, but I wouldn't say he is any better than the guys that we have in the building. We'll let the competition kind of play itself out and see what happens."
Pierce plays the game with a hard-nosed running style
"I took bits and pieces of everybody's game and molded it to my own style, which is violent," Pierce said. "I like to fight for my yards. I like to punish the defense. I don't like taking hits. I like giving hits."
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