After putting his speed on display at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Jeff Demps is ready to use it again on the gridiron.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday via his Twitter account (@RapSheet) that Demps, who played four years of football as a running back at the University of Florida, has filed paperwork with the NFL to embark on a professional football career. Demps was part of the United States men's 4 x 100 meter relay team that won a silver medal in London last week.
As a senior at Florida in 2011, Demps rushed 98 times for a gain of 569 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games for the Gators, averaging 5.8 yards per carry and 47.4 yards per game. He also caught 16 passes out of the backfield for 172 yards and returned 10 kickoffs for 250 yards and one touchdown. In 51 games over four years for the Gators, Demps racked up 3592 all-purpose yards and won a national championship in 2008, graduating from the school as the only Florida athlete to win a national title in two different sports.
Demps went undrafted this past April after telling teams that he planned to focus on track. With his SEC pedigree and Olympic-class speed, however, it shouldn't be long before Demps is "off to the races" again.
