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Jeff Demps
No. 42     New England Patriots
Running back / Return specialist
Personal information
Date of birth: (1990-01-08) January 8, 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth: Winter Garden, Florida
High School: Groveland (FL) South Lake
Height: 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) Weight: 175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
College: Florida
Undrafted in 2012
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
Roster status: Injured Reserve
Career highlights and awards

Jeffery Demps (born January 8, 1990) is an American football player and former track and field athlete. He attended the University of Florida, where he was a running back for the Florida Gators football team and a sprinter for the Gators track and field team. He is the only Florida Gator athlete to have won national championships in two sports with his 2009 BCS National Championship and multiple indoor and outdoor track titles over his four-year career.[1] Demps matched the 100 meters world junior record with a time of 10.01 seconds in June 2008.[2] In January 2012, Demps decided to focus on the 2012 United States Olympic Trials instead of the 2012 NFL Draft, pursuing a career in track rather than professional football.[3] After winning a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Demps signed a contract with the NFL's New England Patriots on August 17, 2012.[4]

High school career[]

Demps attended South Lake High School in Groveland, Florida, where he was a second-team Class 4A all-state selection at running back, gaining 1,401 yards on the ground, along with 16 touchdowns on 157 carries during his senior year. As a junior, he rushed for 21 touchdowns and 1,761 yards on 170 carries, earning second-team all-state Class 3A selection honors. Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Demps was listed as the No. 36 football prospect from the state of Florida in 2008.[5]

In track, he ran the 100 meters at the Florida state final, the fastest time recorded at that event at 10.37 seconds. He also clocked a 10.25 at the AAU Junior Olympics, the second-fastest time ever in the state and the fastest clocking recorded by a high school senior that year. Competing at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials, Demps set a new national high school record with 10.01 seconds, beating J-Mee Samuels' 10.08 seconds. His time also equaled the 100 meters world junior record, originally established by Darrel Brown in 2003.

College career[]

American football[]

Demps played a key role in Florida's third national title season, rushing 78 times for 605 yards, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

Stats[]

Year Stat Carries Yards Average TD
2008 Rushing 78 605 7.8 7
2009 Rushing 99 745 7.5 7
2010 Rushing 92 551 6.0 3
2011 Rushing 98 569 5.8 6

In 2009, Demps competed in four outdoor meets for the Gators track and field team. He ran the anchor leg of Florida’s SEC Championship 4×100m relay team (alongside Jeremy Hall, Calvin Smith, Jr., and Terrell Wilks), which recorded the third-fastest time in school history (38.74) and won Florida's first the 4×100-meter relay title since the 2004 season. Following an injury, Demps only ran a 10.30 over 100 meters at the SEC Championships, placing him ninth overall. At the War Eagle Invitational, Demps helped the Gators win the 4×100-meter relay.

In March 2010, Demps won the 60 meters in 6.56 sec at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Three months later at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he beat favored Rondell Sorrillo by a margin of .13 seconds, claiming the school’s first 100-meter NCAA title since Bernard Williams won in 2000. Demps' time of 9.96 would have been a new school record had the race not been heavily wind-aided (+2.5 m/s).[6] He claimed the 2012 NCAA Indoor title over 60 meters with a personal best run of 6.52 in the heats, then time of 6.56 seconds to win the final.[7] At the 85th Texas Relays in March 2012, Demps won the 100 metres in the university group, ahead of Aaron Ernest of LSU.[8]

On July 25, 2012, Demps was added to the 2012 U.S. Olympic roster as a member of the 4×100 meter relay pool, serving as a replacement for Mike Rodgers, who suffered a stress fracture in his left foot.[9] He raced the first leg of the preliminary second heat and helped the U.S. 4×100 relay team achieve a time of the 37.38 seconds, which was the fastest time of the preliminary round and broke a 20-year-old American record.[10] The team would go on to win a silver medal in the final round with Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey instead of Demps and preliminary teammate Davis Patton, but as part of the team, Demps still received a medal.[11]

Personal bests[]

Event Time (seconds) Venue Date Notes
60 meters 6.52 Nampa, Idaho March 9, 2012
100 meters 9.96 Eugene, Oregon June 28, 2010
200 meters 20.64 Stanford, Florida April 6, 2012

Professional football career[]

Demps skipped the 2012 NFL Combine and Draft in favor of preparing for the Olympics. However, he attracted interest from NFL teams after the Games, and agreed to terms on a three-year deal with the New England Patriots on August 17, 2012.[12] On August 31, 2012, he was placed on injured reserve. Coach Bill Belichick has stated that he will be out for the rest of the season. [13]

References[]

  1. "Jeff Demps: 2011 Football Roster". University of Florida. http://www.gatorzone.com/football/bios.php?year=2011&player_id=181. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  2. Risner, Blake (June 30, 2008). "Records tumbling at U.S. Olympic track trials". Glenwood Springs Post Independent. http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080630/SPORTS/717391452/1075.
  3. Carter, Scott (January 12, 2012). "Demps Running Track for Gators and Plans to Pursue Olympics and Pro Career Instead of NFL". GatorZone.com. http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=22110.
  4. http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/19304639/2012/08/17/olympic-medalist-demps-opts-for-patriots-over-bucs
  5. "Florida Top 100 2008". Rivals.com. January 30, 2008. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-1853.
  6. "Demps wins in 9.96; Kevkhishvili repeats". Florida Gators Country. June 11, 2010. http://www.gatorcountry.com/other_sports/article/demps_wins_in_996_kevkhishvili_repeats/9316.
  7. Dunaway, James (2012-03-12). Florida and Oregon on top - NCAA Indoors . IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-22.
  8. Special to Gatorsports.com (2012-03-31). "Jeff Demps claimed the men's 100 meters university crown". Gatorsports.com. http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20120331/ARTICLES/120339928. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  9. Special to Gatorsports.com. "Demps added to Olympics roster". Gatorsports.com. http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20120724/ARTICLES/120729808. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  10. "USA, Jamaica roar into men's 4x100 final with blazing times". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/track/story/2012-08-10/olympics-track-relays/56938190/1. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  11. Williams, JR (11 August 2012). "Former Gator Jeff Demps won't be part Olympic relay final". Orland Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-11/sports/os-gator-jeff-demps-olympics-relay-0811_1_jeff-demps-usain-bolt-tyson-gay. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  12. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/19815237/report-silver-medalist-jeff-demps-to-sign-with-patriots
  13. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000057344/article/patriots-place-jeff-demps-on-injured-reserve

Further reading[]

External links[]

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