GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Unlike the majority of his new teammates, Gators freshman linebacker Jesiah Pierre doesn't come from a prep powerhouse that pumps out FBS players each year.
Pierre played at Mount Dora Christian Academy, a small private school in central Florida that competes in the independent Sunshine State Athletic Conference. According to its website, MDCA has 616 students from pre-K through 12th-grade.
As one of the school's most recognizable students, the 6-foot-2, 217-pound Pierre was its most accomplished on the football field. Pierre was named the
Leesburg Daily Commercial Defensive Player of the Year his junior and senior seasons.
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College recruiters caught on and offers started to pour in, including one from UF safeties coach
Ron English not long after
Dan Mullen took over the program. Pierre was committed to Miami early in the process, but once he visited Florida and started research what the Gators had to offer, his outlook changed.
"It was the atmosphere," Pierre said. "The fan base and just really what it means to be a Florida Gator. I started to learn about the tradition here and what the school's really about, how really amazing the university is.
"And the coaching staff as well. It was a new, fresh coaching staff. I wanted to be around people who had a great mentality and a great mindset. It felt like to me that they were on a mission. I wanted to be part of that mission to achieve a national championship. When I saw
Dan Mullen, I could just feel the energy and the hunger that he had. I was really inspired by that."
Playing at a small school, Pierre played both ways in high school. In his final prep game in November, he rushed for 133 yards on 23 carries in the Bulldogs' single-wing offense. Still, MDCA lost to Bradenton Saint Stephens in the playoffs and Pierre began to look ahead, signing with the Gators in December and arriving on campus as a mid-year enrollee last month.
In our continuing series to introduce Florida's mid-year enrollees on
FloridaGators.com, here is a Q&A with Pierre:
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Q: What has the transition to UF been like for you?
A: I'm excited about it. Just trying to prepare myself mentally and physically for it. And now that it's actually here, it's kind of like surreal. 'Oh wow, I'm actually a college student, a college football player.' It's a blessing. I'm really excited about what lies ahead in my future and ready to get to work and start grinding.
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Mid-year enrollee Jesiah Pierre
Q: Did you grow up a huge Gators fan?
A: I didn't start playing or watching football until I was 13. First, I didn't even like the Gators. I would like to make fun of them, mostly because of all my friends, when they would lose a game or something. But when I started to look at them was when I first started to get offers. 'Ok, now I've got to take things seriously and start looking at what's around me and what's best for my life.' I took a look at Florida and that's when I came over here and I knew this was the right place for me.
Q: How do you describe yourself as a player?
A: Aggressive, fast and lots of effort.
Q: When did you really settle in at linebacker?
A: My ninth-grade year, there were only like 15 guys on my team. I had to play linebacker and ever since that, I just stuck with it. They were trying to decide whether defensive end, outside linebacker or inside. I've really been playing all of them. The versatility really defines me as a player.
Q: What's a good first spring camp for you?
A: Giving effort every day and proving why I am here. You've got to prove why you got that scholarship. I have a lot to prove from where I am from. Not a lot of people get this opportunity.
Q: Does your high school produce many FBS scholarship players?
A: Some in other sports, but never in football. I'm like the first in football.
Q: What's your best day in football?
A: In high school, we made a lot of history. One of them was winning the first playoff game in school history and advancing to the final four my senior year. Dancing with my teammates in the locker room. Those moments were very exciting. It's probably the big wins we had for me. Big moments as a player, anybody can talk about those, but being a team means a lot more. I think when we won as a team, being with a group of guys that I've known since the eighth-grade and paying football with, and progressing and working so hard to make a difference in the football program where I'm from, that really affected me a lot more.
Q: What is something a lot of people don't know about you?
A: I did track in high school. I actually won state two years in a row in high school in discus.
Q: How did you pick that up?
A: I started doing track in ninth-grade and I made it to states my first year, so I just stuck with track. Next, I'm like, 'wow, I could actually do good in this.' The next year I won states and I won states again my junior year.
Q: Your position group includes a senior leader in David Reese; how much have you talked to him?
A: When I got over here he's been talking to me and giving me advice. I feel like he is a good mentor for me. He's been playing since he was a freshman. I can just learn from him and really step up my game.
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