GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Most coaches would look at sprinter Jeff Demps and see a potential kick returner. Florida coach Urban Meyer saw a potential kick blocker.
“A 10.2 (100 meters) guy on the edge (of a punt rush), I dream about that,” Meyer said. “(Chris) Rainey, (Louis) Murphy and Demps are dynamic.”
Rainey, Murphy and Demps are three of Florida’s fastest players. But they aren’t just running backs or wide receivers.
Meyer has used all of them to rush opposing punters. Demps, a true freshman, blocked a Miami punt in his second college game.
Meyer said he also considered using Percy Harvin in a similar role on special teams. He decided against it because Harvin is so valuable as a receiver and running back.
Another Rush: Defensive end Carlos Dunlap was a dominant force in the spring. He hasn’t had the same impact this fall.
“He has not answered the bell like we had hoped,” Meyer said. “He played well in the Miami game but not against Hawaii.”
Dunlap, who played as a backup last year as a freshman, has tremendous potential. He’s 6-foot-6, 290 pounds with a wing span of 88 inches, and was athletic enough to have returned kicks for his high school team in North Charleston, S.C.
Although he has been inconsistent, he had two sacks against Miami.
With Dunlap and second-year starter Jermaine Cunningham, the Gators have a potentially strong outside pass rush. Cunningham has 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in two games.
A New Linebacker?: Florida sophomore running back Mon Williams could get a shot at linebacker in practice, Meyer said.
Williams might have been the Gators starting running back in 2007 if he hadn’t suffered a torn ACL in a spring scrimmage. He has struggled to come back from the injury.
Sign This: Quarterback Tim Tebow has been besieged by autograph seekers since he arrived at the University of Florida. But he got his first autograph request long before he became a college football star.
“I was a sophomore in high school,” he said. “It was a little bit odd.
“They asked me to sign a baseball, which was a little weird. Couldn’t you ask me to sign a football?”
Extra Points: Florida ranks third nationally in run defense over the last four seasons. … Florida has scored 275 points off turnovers in three seasons and two games under Meyer. … Florida assistant head coach Steve Addazio was an offensive line coach on the Syracuse team that UT edged 34-33 in its 1998 season opener, the first of 13 consecutive victories on the way to a national championship.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 14
VOLKING writes:
Thanks, JA. Is there any chance of you doing a positive article about TN...ever????
LifeTimeVOL writes:
Wow how about we just write an article WORSHIPING Tebow and the Gators?
rockytopjeff writes:
John,
When you get your sex change to become a man. Be sure to let Tebow circumcise you. You are a pathetic excuse for a beat writer. Move your stupid azz to Florida.
CoverOrange writes:
Give it up guys. JA's beat IS the opposition. That explains why he knows nothing about UT football.
cobbwebb writes:
headline: TENNESSEE uses Eric Berry to go after demps, harvin, rainey, and murphy!
volyer writes:
Adams is in Gainesville. His task this week, as I see it is to report on happenings around the UF program and provide a little insight as to what's going on down there. That said, many of you might want him to stay down there, but he's doing his job. Would be nice to see us utilize our talent in a similar fashion. We almost had Demps; doubt he would've found the field yet.
bobbarbilly writes:
JA, does Florida have any speed to speak of?
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
He's a spy for the FBI(that's John Adams)!! Maybe he's Gator bait? Maybe he made a deal in the swamp, and he can't help himself. He does seem a little out of control, doesn't he?? Maybe we'll make a deal, give 'em(the Gators)John Adams say for what?? That trophy down there, this game?? The man must be a mark, a piece of meat. Acts like a loser doesn't he? We can do it, we can beat their defense. We can do it!
rusty_shackleford writes:
Tuscaloosa John was just about lynched last winter. The change in assignment to writing about Vol opponents was the KNS's attempt to A) keep him writing negatively about UT, B) keep him alive, C) get him out of town.
Since he is persona non grata on campus, having him write about a team where he has ZERO access made no sense. His attempt at editorials was pathetic and lost KNS a ton of subscriptions which is why he is writing these puff pieces.
Just like the MSM, Tuscaloosa John is practically done.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Looks like out of our $$$millions$$$, we could realign to get a FULL-TIME BONA-FIDE special teams coach. Punts returned against us, punts blocked, etc.
Then maybe he would not fit in the family........
DadwasaVol writes:
If you don't like Adams then stop reading him. Dan Rather and Brian Williams have reported from Afghanistan but that doesn't mean they are the enemy. Hell, even Fox News reports from Iraq.
richvol writes:
You may not like him but Meyer is a great coach that understands that the game turns on the kicking game...kind of like what Neyland thought.
Blocked punts,punt and kickoff returns, punt and kickoff coverage and good kicking wins games.
Fulmer hasn't figured this out yet. It took us losing several games because of not being able to cover a kick to get him to even pay attention to it.
If he pooch kicks a kickoff again while trying to hold a lead I'm going to go crazy.
G8er_H8er writes:
Wow, thanks for the article...if I lived in Gainesville.
orangebloodgmc writes:
These guys will get blown up by fullbacks.
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