Jeff Demps, South Lake alum and high school national 100 meter record holder, is already getting settled in at the University of Florida. He is attending summer classes, taking some snaps, and getting to know his football teammates. Apparently, there was quite a bit of trash talking going on and hype about the Gators' new speed demon... "the fastest in the country" so they were saying.
Chris Rainey, a redshirt freshman tailback at UF and 2007 Lakeland High graduate, decided he'd put the rookie to the test and challenged him to a race behind a dorm building. They estimate the distance at around 40 yards. After multiple false starts (and probably a lot of laughs) it was Rainey just edging out Demps to victory. No word on the time, but I'm betting it wasn't FAT!
As a result, apprently it has been the talk of the Gators' lockerroom the past few days and I'm sure Jeff is taking a good bit of ribbing from his new teammates. Coach Urban Meyer, while not condoning unplanned time trials, was pleased at what that shows for the speed of his offense--which he is touting as the fastest in the country
Rainey was a pretty respectable runner himself in his track career at Lakeland. He had PRs of 10.61 for 100, 21.50 for 200, and a 23-9 long jump. Now perhaps if it was a full 100 yards, the result would have been different? You decide.