Give him an inch, and he'll take a mile.
Jeff Demps, the Gators' fastest man, will break through the tiniest of holes for huge gains. But he is not just succeeding on offense.
Sure, the freshman running back is dazzling fans with plays like his 61-yard touchdown catch on a 5-yard slant route against Kentucky on Saturday.
But UF coach Urban Meyer is equally impressed with Demps' other momentum-swinging play in the Gators' 63-5 win.
On the Wildcats' second drive, Demps broke through their offensive line on fourth down, leaping in front of punter Tim Masthay and blocking his kick.
"I have not been around a more valuable guy than Jeffery Demps," Meyer said. "Blocking kicks, catching that pass and taking it all the way."
The Gators recovered the punt on the 1-yard line, and scored a touchdown on the next play, putting them ahead 14-0.
It was Demps' second blocked punt of the season, the other coming in UF's 26-3 victory against Miami on Sept. 6.
"The thing they all like to say about Jeff Demps is he's kind of a made guy," Meyer said. "He works so darn hard at everything we ask him to do. That name around here is going to be around for a long time."
Even Demps said blocking the punt was more special to him than scoring the touchdown.
"Just to see the crowd get crazy like that is just ridiculous," Demps said. "Blocked punts are a big game-changer. We blocked two punts, and the crowd just went crazy."
Yes, it's good to be Jeff Demps this season. He has become UF's first option for rushing the ball, getting more carries in the first half than any player except quarterback Tim Tebow (they tied with six). His 105 total yards in the first half were more than anyone on the field. Demps earned his rest in the second half, as Meyer sat him in a blowout victory.
His touchdown catch caught the eye of Kentucky coach Rich Brooks. Once Demps got past the linebackers, Brooks knew it was over.
"We were in real trouble, because we didn't have anybody who could catch him," Brooks said.
Meyer saw the same thing at that point in the run.
"I started to look for the extra-point team," Meyer said.
Fellow freshman William Green, who blocked the other punt for UF, sees a lot of promise in Demps' future and problems for opponents.
"They're going to be in trouble for the next three years, because he's just a freshman like me," Green said. "We're going to have him around here, and he's going to be playing."
