Rickea Jackson hard-launched her relationship with boyfriend James Pearce Jr. during the NFL draft earlier this year. The LA Sparks star sat alongside Pearce while waiting for his name to be called in April, and adorably rubbed his legs when the Atlanta Falcons selected him with the 26th pick.Months later, the couple has been very open about their romance in public. On Friday, Pearce Jr. posted a collage of their never-seen cozy-up pictures on his Instagram story.The collage consisted of pictures from Pearce Jr.'s draft day and Jackson's outing during the Unrivaled league in Miami. One of the pictures had the couple sharing a kiss with Jackson in her swimwear."my heart," he wrote in the caption.Having her heart melted, Rickea Jackson responded to the post with an adorable reaction. She reposted the post on her IG Story."♾️💓💓💓 bubbyy," she wrote in the caption.Rickea Jackson's IG Story [Picture Credit: IG/@rickea]Rickea Jackson and James Pearce Jr. started dating when they were both playing at the University of Tennessee. While Pearce played three seasons with Tennessee, Jackson joined the Lady Volunteers after playing three seasons with Mississippi State.The couple kept their relationship private in its early stages. In July, the NFL rookie attended one of Jackson's games in Los Angeles. The couple even shared a kiss before Jackson went to the locker room.Rickea Jackson showers love on her boyfriend James Pearce Jr. after his "cute" commentThe love has been seamlessly flowing between Rickea Jackson and her boyfriend James Pearce Jr. lately. So much so that the Falcons' rookie wanted to show love to his girlfriend that he took Jackson's name without even paying attention to the question.In an interview with ESPN after his draft, Pearce Jr. was asked about his favorite athlete growing up. He took Jackson's name in answer. Pearce paid a big compliment to Jackson and said that her basketball game was 'fluid, smooth, sound and technical.'In conversation with USA Today earlier this month, Jackson was asked about her boyfriend's comments and in reply, said it was "cute." "It was cute that he said that," Jackson said. "People are in the comments taking it the wrong way. They were saying, 'Right now, who's your favorite athlete?' But I love him so much." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostJackson also complimented Pearce's game on the football field. She said that apart from Pearce being super athletic and being huge & "intimidating," Pearce's game was also complemented by his cerebral approach to the game.