Speed to Burn: Demps and Rainey are ready to run in new offense
Thursday, August 18, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Some days Gators coach Will Muschamp calls them Demps and Rainey. Other days it's Rainey and Demps. He'll also use Jeff and Chris or Chris and Jeff on occasion.
Florida running backs Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey can do that to people. They are totally separate, but in some ways seem like one moving part in the Gators' backfield.
The similarities start with a blur. It may be impossible to find a faster backfield tandem on any team in the country. Demps currently carries the title of fastest player in college football as a two-time NCAA indoor track national champion in the 60-meter dash. He also ran a wind-aided 9.96 100 meters.
As fast as Demps is, Rainey is one of the few players who can keep up.
“I really don't know,” Rainey said when asked who is faster. “I juke more. He likes to run people over.”
Demps chuckled when a reporter asked the same question, knowing that in most cases the answer would be a no-brainer. Against his teammate the answer isn't as clear since Rainey has ran the 100 meters in 10.4 seconds.
| 1 | Chris Rainey | Sr. | Florida | 7.1 |
| 2 | Jeff Demps | Sr. | Florida | 7.1 |
| 3 | Onterio McCalebb | Jr. | Auburn | 6.9 |
| 4 | Isaiah Pead | Sr. | Cincinnati | 6.6 |
| 5 | Ed Wesley | Jr. | TCU | 6.4 |
“He is shiftier than I am,” Demps said. “Other than that, we're fast guys, tough, [can] run the ball.”
When Muschamp arrived and started evaluating the talent on his first Florida team, few – if any – positions offered as much comfort as halfback. Months later and two weeks into fall camp, even Muschamp has a difficult time in differentiating the two speedsters.
“About .4 seconds, maybe,” Muschamp said. “I don't know. Jeff, I would say, is a little bigger stature-wise. The other day he did a really nice job chipping one of our defensive ends coming out on protection. I thought he may have cracked his ribs. He turned him upside down, which is a great chip and it's good for our offense.
“Chris might be a little bit quicker in that short area, maybe. But it's not much. Jeff, obviously top-end, when he gets rolling, it's hard to catch. Chris is fast, too. I'm not saying he's not fast. That would be the difference between those two.”
As you can tell, even the head coach has difficult time in separating the two. How similar are they?
Well, each enters his senior year with a career average of 7.1 yards per carry. Both changed their number in the offseason, Demps switching from No. 2 to 28 and Rainey from No. 3 to 1. Both came to Gainesville from central Florida – Rainey a prep standout at Lakeland High and Demps a flash at Winter Garden.
In their three seasons together with the Gators, Demps and Rainey have combined for more than 5,000 all-purpose yards, with Demps (2,601 yards) holding a narrow edge over Rainey (2,497).
The similarities are more easily defined off the field.
Rainey is naturally funny and somewhat of a free spirit, sporting a fluffy beard in fall camp that he plans to cut off once the season starts. Demps is more low-key and exudes a quiet intensity that fuels a blossoming two-sport career. He flirted with the idea of taking the money and running off to a professional track career in the offseason but decided he didn't want to give up football.
“I hope to play at the next level,” he said.
Having played in Urban Meyer's spread-option offense for three seasons, Demps and Rainey will now be lining up deeper in the backfield in Charlie Weis' pro-style offense, a change of pace both have quickly adjusted to in camp.
They are lining up more in the I-formation and taking the handoff seven to eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, giving them a chance to see running lanes more clearly.
“It's a tailback-friendly offense,” Demps said. “It's a run first, pass second. I think this year the running backs are going to get a lot of touches.”
That could spell trouble for opposing defenses.
“I don't think I've ever played against anyone as quick and fast as those two guys,” Gators sophomore safety Matt Elam said.
“Preparing for a season with them two in the backfield is great because you can get every look possible from those two,” Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd said.
Having spent his career trying to stop players like Rainey and Demps, Muschamp understands why both average 70 percent of a first down each time they take a handoff. Demps and Rainey both have runs of 50 or more yards the past three seasons.
“Their cutback vision is good,” Muschamp said. “They stick their foot in the ground and they get north and south quickly and they create space plays for a defense. And they are both high top-end speed guys. When you play these guys, you better be gap-sound. They can run.”
Yes they can.
“It ain't just a one-man show,” Rainey said of the Gators' options on offense.
It might seem that way at times, but Demps and Rainey – or Rainey and Demps – is really two players with the same blazing speed.
