Meyer: Gators to rely heavily on Demps
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 | Scott Carter
In the Gators' first two games, junior RB Jeff Demps has rushed only 19 times, but when he gets the ball, Demps is averaging 12.5 yards per rush.
Demps' yards-per-carry average is second only to Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez (13.5) among the top 50 rushers in the country.
With the Gators at Tennessee on Saturday in the SEC opener, Florida coach Urban Meyer said Wednesday that Demps will remain a heavy part of the offense, a trend he fully expected when the season began.
"With the loss of (Tim) Tebow, we were still going to be a team that ran the ball and we needed the big-play hits,'' Meyer said. "I just think he's a great player and better kid.
"We just have to take care of him because he does so much for us. One of the issues we have with Jeff, he goes so hard in practice, we've got to be really cautious with him in practice. We're going to lean on him more and more because he's that good of a player.''
The running game is expected to be a crucial part of Saturday's game with the Volunteers.
Tennessee's offense is led by junior RB Tauren Poole, who leads the SEC in rushing after two games with 272 yards.
"We're going to have some big people on the field,'' Meyer said in trying to stop Poole. "They want to give the ball to that great back and pound it behind a real big offensive line. We're spending a lot of time on that this week in practice.''
