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Dameon Pierce, No. 102 in the ESPN 300, verbally commits to Florida

The Florida Gators' terrific summer run on the recruiting trail has continued into August. Already with five ESPN 300 commitments since July, including one-time USC quarterback verbal Matt Corral, Jim McElwain and staff added another key piece on Sunday.

Dameon Pierce, No. 102 in the ESPN 300 class of 2018, committed to Florida over Auburn on Sunday, adding to what is an impressive group of skill players pledged to the Gators.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound downhill running back with excellent feet in the hole gives is the second huge win by the SEC East over the SEC West in the last four days, with WR Jacob Copeland (No. 46 in the ESPN 300) having picked the Gators over Alabama on August 2.

The Gators began the month of July outside the Top 25 class rankings, but jumped all the way up to No. 12 prior to the commitments of Copeland and one-time Alabama verbal Pierce.

Florida now has the ability to sign a top-five class come February, with a number of top targets remaining on the board, including ESPN 300 offensive linemen Nicholas Petit-Frere (No. 22), William Barnes (No. 56) and Richard Gouraige (No. 123).

Other remaining ESPN 300 recruits: receivers Anthony Schwartz (No. 67) and Justyn Ross (No. 88), defensive tackle Coynis Miller (No. 203), defensive end and Ohio State verbal Andrew Chatfield (No. 158) and cornerback and Nebraska verbal Brendan Radley-Hiles (No. 187).

The last time the Gators signed a top-10 class was in 2014, which included NFL early entry draft picks Quincy Wilson, Jalen Tabor and David Sharpe. Florida's last top-5 class was in 2013 and included Vernon Hargreaves III, Jarrad Davis, Keanu Neal, Caleb Brantley, Kelvin Taylor, Demarcus Robinson and Alex Anzalone.