I don't develop man crushes easily, and there are only five that have really stuck with me.
First, there was Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, my boyhood idol, whom my girlfriend inexplicably does not find attractive. (Not sure what that says about me.)
Then came Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson, whom I would re-award the Heisman Trophy to every season if I could, Dutch soccer player Ruud van Nistelrooy (I just love the name), and NFL superstars David Garrard and Chris Johnson (East Carolina grads).
It takes a lot to get added to that list, but UF running back Jeff Demps is making a strong push.
Through eight games, Demps leads the Gators in rushing as a true freshman and has supplied the big plays everyone expected to come from Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin and Emmanuel Moody.
I'm not saying any of those three have been bad this season but Demps has breezed past them as the big-play threat.
He leads the nation in yards per carry (10.2) among players with 30 rushes or more, and his four touchdowns are an average of 47 yards long. On the side, he also averages 10.1 yards per his eight receptions. Yikes.
He has provided nearly the same bang for the buck as Harvin did in his freshman season, and Demps' accomplishments might be even more impressive considering the fact that he's battling Chris Rainey, Kestahn Moore, Moody, Tebow and Harvin for carries.
The odds of a true freshman rising to the top of that group are slim, but Demps has shown he is much more than the sideshow many expected him to be coming into the season.
He has zero fumbles and, just for fun, two blocked punts. He also has three tackles and is lauded by Urban Meyer as one of UF's best players on special teams.
Demps has had a ridiculous year so far, and while he hit a rough patch against Georgia last week, that was partly the fault of the coaching staff for trying to use him as the one thing he isn't - a wrecking ball - on the opening drives.
There's no reason to think he won't return to his playmaking ways Saturday against Vanderbilt, and if there's one thing his eye-popping numbers tell us, it's this:
Demps needs a great nickname.
Tebow is The Chosen One (forget that Superman nonsense), linebacker Brandon Spikes is the Predator (probably the best possible nickname on the team) and Demps deserves one too.
I have heard lots of things thrown around, but nothing has really stuck yet, so let's come up with one.
E-mail me some suggestions, and I'll either pick one or put up a poll on our Web site to choose a winner. I promise to use it liberally whenever Demps' name comes up in a story.
You can name Harvin, Demps and Rainey together (I saw someone came up with Mach 1, 2 and 3) or keep him separate.
Some ground rules: I don't want anything with "Lightning" in it because it's played out. And no "Dash" stuff either. That's Chris Johnson's nickname, and I'm sensitive about it.
Finally, nothing long like Jeff "2 Legit 2 Quit" Demps. Keep it to one or two words.
Some good ideas I have heard or thought of so far: "Shock and Awe" for Rainey and Demps, "The Fugitive" (he's always on the run), "Jailbreak," "The Dart," and "The Roadrunner."
Let me know what you think, because no man crush is complete without a nickname.
