Linebacker Jon Bostic watched from the sidelines in disbelief, and all left tackle Xavier Nixon saw were clumps of dirt kicking up from the field as 88,708 fans erupted in The Swamp.
Chris Rainey spun past a defender in the backfield after it appeared he would be stopped for a loss, and the 5-foot-9, 180-pound running back streaked down the left sideline and into the end zone.
It was the second of Rainey’s three touchdowns in Florida’s season-opening 41-3 win against Florida Atlantic last week, and one of five scored by Rainey and fellow speedster Jeff Demps on the night as they combined for more than 300 all-purpose yards.
“They’re versatile players,” Nixon said.
“They just make things happen and it’s great to see them together in tandem to get touches. It’s just a beautiful thing.”
The display set the tone for Florida’s offense, and for the two senior running backs, who have a chance to become the first 1,000-yard rushers at Florida since Ciatrick Fason in 2004. Should that happen, Demps and Rainey would also become the first pair of Gators to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.
Shifting Gears
The days of the spread-option are gone, and Rainey couldn’t be happier.
Throughout their Florida careers, Demps and Rainey played in Urban Meyer’s spread offense, where they took handoffs or pitches and lined up next to the quarterback in the backfield.
Now, the Gators have adapted a pro-style attack under offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, and the team is running what Demps called a tailback-friendly, run-first offense.
They line up two yards deeper in the new system, making it easier to read the defense and find holes.
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Rainey said. “The whole offense is made for us, so I’m just glad it happened.”
Rainey was part of a pro-style offense at Lakeland High, where he ran for 2,478 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior and helped lead the Dreadnaughts to three consecutive state championships.
“We’re in an offense I love, and I can’t wait to perform,” Rainey said during fall camp.
He and Demps didn’t have to wait long, as the changing of the guard was evident just one game into the season.
Although Weis said Florida kept the offense relatively vanilla for the opener, his philosophy of establishing the run early and often was on display against Florida Atlantic last Saturday.
The twosome ran 23 times for three scores and 184 rushing yards, including 105 from Demps, who reached the century mark for the fifth time in his career.
“Everything starts with the run game,” Weis said. “It’s obvious we’ve got a couple of dynamic guys.”
But their impact on offense went beyond carrying the ball.
Along with the lofty rushing totals, the two had 88 receiving yards as Rainey led the team with six receptions and 67 yards.
Both also made key contributions on special teams.
Rainey scooped up a blocked punt and brought it back for a touchdown, and Demps returned the opening kickoff to the house only to have it called back due to a holding penalty.
“I tried to forewarn you of what I expected, and what I expected was basically what you saw,” Weis said. “They’re both exceptional football players.”
Speed Kills
Weis called Demps and Rainey the two fastest players he has ever coached — at any level.
Given what Weis has accomplished and seen in his 32-year coaching career — which includes 16 seasons in the NFL and four Super Bowl rings — when he makes that kind of claim, people tend to listen.
“Everyone who comes in — all my boys from the other level, I say the same thing to them,” Weis said. “I say, ‘You’ve never seen anything like this.’ I don’t know if they can play dead, but I know they can run.”
Demps is a world-class sprinter who reportedly turned down a lucrative professional track contract to return to Florida for his senior season.
In March, he ran a 6.55 in the 60-meter dash to break his own school record and claim the NCAA championship, and he has run the 100-meter in under 10 seconds on multiple occasions.
Rainey also ran track when he first arrived in Gainesville, earning All-America honors as a freshman when he helped lead the Gators to a third-place finish in the 4x100 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Fortunately for the Gators, their speed on the track translates to speed on the turf, where they have routinely shown the ability to break off what coach Will Muschamp calls “explosives,” or runs longer than 10 yards and receptions longer than 20.
“They’re huge for this team,” redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley said. “Two of the fastest — probably the two fastest running backs in the country.”
Each claims to be faster than the other, but Demps concedes that he likes to bowl through and outrun defenders while Rainey is the shiftier, more elusive back.
Regardless of who may be faster, both should expect to touch the ball a lot in their final collegiate season.
“They’ll both be out there a whole bunch,” Weis said recently. “They’ll be tired after games. They’ll both be tired.”
Staying on their feet
The biggest hurdle both backs face is remaining on the field for a full season.
Each has dealt with injuries or off-field issues during his time at Florida.
Rainey’s freshman season in 2007 was derailed after four games when he sustained a shoulder injury, and both missed significant time last year when Demps sprained his left foot against Tennessee and Rainey was arrested and subsequently suspended by Meyer.
Demps hurt one of his wheels after he carried the ball 26 times against the Volunteers. He missed time and was hampered by the sprain for the remainder of the season.
“It was frustrating,” Demps said.
“Coach Meyer would come by me every week and say, ‘You got ten carries in you this week?’ and I would say, ‘Yes coach.’ Just being me, I’m a competitor. But deep down, I don’t think I was physically ready.”
But Demps said there is no lingering pain and he is ready to take on a full load, and a full season. So is Rainey, who said he has matured over the last year and has learned to think before he acts.
Still, Weis said concerns remain about the duo’s stamina and the ability to find the right balance of “utilizing them enough, but not too much.”
Neither has recorded more than 99 carries nor sniffed the 800-yard rushing mark during his career.
But, with a steady rotation in the backfield to keep each other fresh and healthy, Rainey and Demps could eclipse those marks and go down as the first 1,000-yard rushing duo in Florida history.
“I’m a big fan of Demps and Rainey,” Weis said. “I’m not used to having two guys that are that fast and that quick. It’s a very unusual quality, but the best part about it to me is that they’re very close to being the same guy.”
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
Florida running back Jeff Demps rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the Gators’ 41-3 win against FAU in the season opener last Saturday. It was Demps’ fifth-career 100-yard game.
UF running back Chris Rainey (1) said the team’s new pro-style offense suits him better than the spread offense of a year ago. Rainey notched three touchdowns in Florida’s Week 1 win, including a return of a blocked punt.
