Jeffery Barnard Demps (born January 8, 1990) is an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete and former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

. He attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, where he was a running back for the

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division ...

team and a sprinter for the

Florida Gators track and field The Florida Gators track and field program represents the University of Florida in the sport of track and field. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Ass ...

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 The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

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 The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

, pursuing a career in track rather than professional football. After winning a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Demps signed a contract with the NFL's

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

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 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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. 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 Darrel Rondel Brown (born October 11, 1984) is a sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago who specializes in the 100 metres and the 200 metres. In the beginning of his career, he was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete at ...

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 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.

Statistics

Track and field

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 Terrell Wilks (born December 30, 1989) is an American sprinter who specializes in the 100 and 200 metres. He competed for University of Florida and had numerous All American Honors. He then signed a professional contract with Saucony A native of ...

), 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 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athl ...

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 Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams, FBA (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English moral philosopher. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessity' ...

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 The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays are an annual track and field competition held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The University of Texas serves as host for the event, held on either the first or second weekend of April. Events are he ...

in March 2012, Demps won the 100 metres in the university group, ahead of

Aaron Ernest Aaron Troy Ernest (born November 8, 1993) is an American sprinter who specializes in the 100 meters and 200 metres. He went to Homewood high school and competed for the LSU Tigers from 2012 to 2015. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Ernest r ...

of LSU. 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 Michael Rodgers (born April 24, 1985) is an American professional track and field sprinter who specializes in the 100 m and the 60 m. He won the gold medal in the 100m relay in Doha 2019. He is also the Pan-Am Games Champion. Career ...

, who suffered a stress fracture in his left foot. 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. The team would go on to win a silver medal in the final round with

Tyson Gay Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 meters. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete over 100 m ...

and Ryan Bailey instead of Demps and preliminary teammate Darvis Patton, but as part of the team, Demps still received a medal. The medal was later stripped, after Gay admitted to using a banned substance. Demps is still competing at a high level to this day. During the 2018 season, Demps has won the Cayman Invitational and the Bermuda Invitational track meets both in the 100m. He also placed 6th in the USATF National Championships with a time of 10.02 seconds.

Personal bests

Professional football career

Demps skipped the 2012 NFL Combine and Draft in favor of preparing for the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, he attracted interest from NFL teams after the Olympics, and agreed to terms on a three-year deal with the

on August 17, 2012. On August 31, 2012, he was placed on injured reserve and thus missed the entire 2012 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On April 27, 2013, the Patriots traded Demps to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

along with a seventh-round selection (229th overall) in the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall i ...

for running back LeGarrette Blount. Demps was released by the Buccaneers on August 30, 2014 as part of the final roster cuts. On August 31, 2014, Jeff Demps was signed to the Buccaneers practice squad.

Indianapolis Colts

Demps signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

on October 21, 2014. He was released on October 29, 2014, and re-signed on November 25. Demps was waived on May 4, 2015.

References

External links

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Jeff Demps
at DyeStat * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Demps, Jeff 1990 births Living people American football running backs American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Florida Gators football players Florida Gators men's track and field athletes Indianapolis Colts players New England Patriots players Olympic track and field athletes of the United States People from Winter Garden, Florida Players of American football from Florida Sportspeople from Orange County, Florida Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Track and field athletes from Florida Track and field athletes in the National Football League