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Jeff Demps

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Jeff Demps

Jeffery Barnard Demps (born January 8, 1990) is an American former track and field athlete and professional football running back. He attended the University of Florida, where he was a running back for the Florida Gators football team and a sprinter for the Florida 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. Demps matched the 100 meters world junior record with a time of 10.01 seconds in June 2008.

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. Demps signed a contract with the NFL's New England Patriots on August 17, 2012. He was a running back for the New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Indianapolis Colts. He only had regular season playing time with the Buccaneers.

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.

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.

Demps played a key role in Florida's third national championship season, rushing 78 times for 605 yards, averaging 7.8 yards per carry as a freshman. During his sophomore season Demps rushed for a career high 745 yards on 99 carries and 7 scores. He also averaged 7.5 yards a carry that season. During his junior season, Demps battled several injuries which caused him to rush for a career low 551 yards on 92 carries and 3 touchdowns. as a senior, Jeff Demps rushed for 569 yards on 98 carries and 6 touchdowns. This included a career long 84-yard touchdown score against Kentucky.

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 × 100 m 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 seconds 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 Rondel 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). 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. At the 85th Texas Relays in March 2012, Demps won the 100 metres in the university group, ahead of Aaron Ernest of LSU.

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