Unfortunately for defenses facing the Florida Gators this season, quarterback Tim Tebow couldn’t take tailback Jeffrey Demps with him to the NFL.
Demps already has touchdown runs of 72 and 62 yards and is coming off his most productive performance. In Florida’s 38-14 win over South Florida last Saturday, the 5-foot-8, 184-pound junior from Winter Garden, Fla., had 139 rushing yards, 21 receiving yards and 95 yards on kickoff returns.
“I’ve never had a game like that,” Demps said. “I guess it feels pretty good, but I’m going to try and come out this week and have an even better game.”
The No. 10 Gators travel to Tennessee this Saturday with hopes that a third win at Neyland Stadium under coach Urban Meyer can be the catapult to a third national championship.
Florida is a long way from title material offensively, however, as new starting quarterback John Brantley ranks 10th in the SEC with 142.5 passing yards per game. Deonte Thompson has hardly been a deep threat at receiver with 11.9 yards a catch, while Chris Rainey, who can play tailback and receiver, was suspended from the team Tuesday following an arrest for aggravated stalking.
Meyer’s one constant is Demps, who has rushed 19 times for 237 yards (12.47 yards per carry) in two wins. He won the NCAA 60-meter indoor track title in March and the 100-meter outdoor title in June and is the first student-athlete in Florida history to claim national championships in two different sports.
“I think everybody knows how I feel about Demps,” Meyer said. “I know how the offensive line feels. Give him a crack and that guy is gone.”
With 12:31 remaining in Florida’s opener and the Gators leading Miami of Ohio by a shaky 21-12, Demps bolted 72 yards for a score that allowed fans to finally breathe at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. He finished with 98 yards, and the Gators as a team had 99.
Florida had only 212 yards of total offense in the 34-12 opener, and Thompson and Carl Moore played every snap at receiver.
“It was a mess,” Meyer said.
The Gators were tied 7-7 with USF midway through the third quarter when Demps had his 62-yard touchdown, igniting the better-late-than-never runaway. Florida amassed 423 yards against the Bulls, including 251 on the ground.
Meyer said that game was the hardest his tailbacks have run in a while, and he said Demps may have played his best on the punt-return team.
“The main thing is to get that guy on the ground,” Tennessee sophomore safety Prentiss Waggner said. “You’ve got to use great technique, because when it all comes down to it, he’s got to hit that ground. If he doesn’t, he’s going to score.”
Said Demps: “I like bringing momentum to our side. It all feels good, but at the same time, I’m not satisfied.”
Demps was rated by Rivals.com as the nation’s No. 7 all-purpose running back in the 2008 class. He rushed 78 times for 605 yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman, eclipsing the 100-yard mark against Arkansas and LSU.
A year ago, Demps rushed 99 times for 745 yards and seven scores. He had 106 yards on seven carries in the rout of Florida State but inexplicably had just one rush for 9 yards the following week in the SEC title game against Alabama, Florida’s only loss in its last 26 games.
Of the 13 potential starting positions on Florida’s offense, which includes fullback and when the Gators open in four-receiver sets, only Demps and Thompson are in the same spots they were last season. That lack of continuity has led to problems, especially early in games, as Florida has compiled 34 combined yards in the first quarter.
“It is a work in progress,” Meyer said. “Have we found our identity? Absolutely not. I like to score as much as the next guy, but I think we’re more of a blue-collar team that’s going to find a way to get 4 yards here, 5 yards here, and then, bang, take a shot.”
So far those shots have come on the ground, and they’ve come from Demps.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com and (423) 757-6524.