After another eye-opening performance in Saturday’s 51-21 victory by now fifth-ranked Florida over Louisiana State, true freshman running back Jeffrey Demps took over the rushing lead for the Gators.
Demps carried 10 times for 129 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown run. After winning SEC Freshman of the Week honors for his 103-yard rushing effort against Arkansas, Demps could be in line to win the award again. The 5-8, 176-pound former South Lake High School standout now leads the Gators in rushing with 307 yards on 23 carries, an average of 13.3 yards per rush. His four touchdowns have all come on plays of over 30 yards.
Gator Country’s Cody Jones had a chance to question Demps following the game.
Q: You were the first one to talk to Chris Rainey after he got hurt. How close are you guys?
A: We have a thing called “Power of the Unit.” It just gets you close with your unit. Me, Rainey, Kestahn (Moore) and (Emmanuel) Moody are all real close. If one goes down, we’re there to pick them up. If I go down, they’re there to pick me up.
Q: Are you a little surprised sometimes by how you’re doing, especially against a solid LSU defense?
A: Yeah I’m a little surprised, but at the same time we had a great week of practice. Our offensive line was really coming off the ball. We just had to execute and we did.
Q: Do you like the splits in the offensive line?
A: Yeah, it gave us a chance to see the hole before we actually hit it.
Q: How much progress have you made in the short time that you’ve been here?
A: I think it’s just hard work. Every day I want to come out and work hard. I just do my job and execute to help my team out.
Q: Have you had a chance to look at how impressive your stats are right now?
A: I got a chance to glance at them, but I’m not paying much attention to them. We’ve still got a lot of games to go. I just want to stay focused.
Q: If you or Rainey get through the offensive line’s hole, is it pretty much over?
A: I think if we get through it, it could be over. We made a couple big runs where just a few more inches and it would have been over. We’re satisfied though.
Q: What does this game do for the confidence in the offense and running game?
A: We knew we were a good team, but we felt we got called out as an offense. We know we can run it. We just had to come out and show the whole world.
Q: Are you amazed at how easily you’re breaking these long runs?
A: I’m kind of amazed. I knew coming into the University of Florida that the holes would get a lot bigger. I have a lot of chances to get big runs.
Q: How much pride do you guys take in being the fastest team on the field?
A: We took a lot of pride in it. We know how much speed we have and we showed it tonight.
Q Do you guys even want a bye week with the way you played?
A: We don’t like bye weeks because we feel like they give us a chance to take time off and get lazy. We aren’t going to slack off, though.