Jeff Demps vs Chris Rainey vs Percy Harvin

[FireFoley]

Rainey ran a 10.66 100m at UF. Hawkins’ pr is 10.45.

Running is Pajamas and running in pads are two different things. Track speed does not always translate. Does not mean they were slow on the field but both Demps and Rainey put Percy Harvin(s) away in PJ's. With pads on, Percy was faster than both of them.

 

[gatormandan]

I ran a 10.45 50 once in HS.

I went outside to run once at 10:45 one morning but I changed my mind.

 

[Theologator]

Running is Pajamas and running in pads are two different things. Track speed does not always translate. Does not mean they were slow on the field but both Demps and Rainey put Percy Harvin(s) away in PJ's. With pads on, Percy was faster than both of them.

All true. Plus the knack for cuts and angles makes a huge difference on the field. Demps had terrific speed but Rainey broke ankles and escaped apparent tackles like a magician.

Percy was unreal with his size, speed, athleticism, versatility and the fastest first step ever. I don’t really like talking about others playing “the Percy position” because it’s just not fair to expect that from anyone. Ever.

James wasn’t so much about speed as making people miss him.

If Hawkins can do any of the above we’ll be very happy.

 

[Scared $ Don’t Make $]

Running is Pajamas and running in pads are two different things. Track speed does not always translate. Does not mean they were slow on the field but both Demps and Rainey put Percy Harvin(s) away in PJ's. With pads on, Percy was faster than both of them.

Percy had the lateral speed. He could cut on a dime and accelerate out of his break. Demps and Rainey both had straight away speed. Straight line test Rainey and demps all day even in pads.

At the end of the day it’s all about how they use him. If he’s not used correctly it won’t matter how fast he is.

 

[Alagator]

All true. Plus the knack for cuts and angles makes a huge difference on the field. Demps had terrific speed but Rainey broke ankles and escaped apparent tackles like a magician.

Percy was unreal with his size, speed, athleticism, versatility and the fastest first step ever. I don’t really like talking about others playing “the Percy position” because it’s just not fair to expect that from anyone. Ever.................

Just wait! This is gonna be a breakout year for Dubose!

 

[Zambo]

Jeff Demps may be the fastest player we've ever had, even in pads. Maybe not the quickest or shiftiest but the fastest.

 

[Sec14Gator]

Jeff Demps may be the fastest player we've ever had, even in pads. Maybe not the quickest or shiftiest but the fastest.

On that tape, he gets the ball at the 10 yard line with 7 seconds on the clock. He then ran 90 yards, in pads, at angles to avoid tacklers (likely covering closer to 100 direct line yards)), and crosses the goal line at 17 seconds. That is truly crazy fast.

AND, he let up at the end or he would have been even quicker. (See Zambo beat me to this point).

 

[Zambo]

On that tape, he gets the ball at the 10 yard line with 7 seconds on the clock. He then ran 90 yards, in pads, at angles to avoid tacklers (likely covering closer to 100 direct line yards)), and crosses the goal line at 17 seconds. That is truly crazy fast.

Especially since he coasted the last 20 yards.

 

[EuroGator]

Percy had the lateral speed. He could cut on a dime and accelerate out of his break. Demps and Rainey both had straight away speed. Straight line test Rainey and demps all day even in pads.

At the end of the day it’s all about how they use him. If he’s not used correctly it won’t matter how fast he is.

Rainey was not (extraordinarily) fast. He was a shifty, quick, jitterbug with good speed, but he was not straight-line blazing like Demps. Before you trust your memory, watch these highlights. One running back wins races in the open field while one cuts back against the grain and/or gets caught from behind. You may want to pay particular attention to the Criminole Safety at about the 6:20 mark. Rainey may make you miss a tackle in a phone booth, but if you let Demps get even with you, it's over.



People say Toney was blazingly fast too when he was much more similar to Rainey.

 

[Theologator]

Rainey was not (extraordinarily) fast. He was a shifty, quick, jitterbug with good speed, but he was not straight-line blazing like Demps. Before you trust your memory, watch these highlights. One running back wins races in the open field while one cuts back against the grain and/or gets caught from behind. You may want to pay particular attention to the Criminole Safety at about the 6:20 mark. Rainey may make you miss a tackle in a phone booth, but if you let Demps get even with you, it's over.



People say Toney was blazingly fast too when he was much more similar to Rainey.

Nice summary. I’ll add that Rainey was patient about waiting for blocks and setting them up. His burst was elite, but he’d get caught or almost caught downfield.

Toney was/is freakishly able to use crazy cuts and change of direction to break tackles. If someone got a hand on Rainey he wasn’t likely to break the tackle. Toney isn’t down until he’s actually down.

 

[5-Star Finger]

People say Toney was blazingly fast too when he was much more similar to Rainey.

Rainey was more of a running back than Demps. I've heard it repeated more than once from guys that would know that Rainey beat Demps the one time they raced. This includes the statement from the man himself.

Rainey was fast. Rainey is still fast. If you've got an athlete in north central Florida, he's a great speed coach.

 

[Gatorphan]

Rainey was more of a running back than Demps. I've heard it repeated more than once from guys that would know that Rainey beat Demps the one time they raced. This includes the statement from the man himself.

Rainey was fast. Rainey is still fast. If you've got an athlete in north central Florida, he's a great speed coach.

I believe Rainey was faster in the 40, but Demps was in the 100

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Jeff Demps may be the fastest player we've ever had, even in pads. Maybe not the quickest or shiftiest but the fastest.

Damn! Just Damn! I had forgotten.

 

[EuroGator]

Rainey was more of a running back than Demps. I've heard it repeated more than once from guys that would know that Rainey beat Demps the one time they raced. This includes the statement from the man himself.

Rainey was fast. Rainey is still fast. If you've got an athlete in north central Florida, he's a great speed coach.

That's pretty vague and hard to define. I think you'd be hard pressed to make that case. I think it simply reflects a personal preference. Rainey was much more likely to get injured, get a penalty, or fumble, or get arrested. I enjoyed Rainey and loved that we had them both. I think it's hard to claim that Rainey was "more of a running back." You'd need to define that one.



As to the claim that Rainey was faster at the 40 and Demps faster at the 100, I found this where Rainey's personal best was recorded at a college track meet. Rainey's PB is 6.7 in the 60 and Demps beat him that day with a 6.61. Demps' PB according to Wikipedia is 6.52.

 

[Theologator]

That's pretty vague and hard to define. I think you'd be hard pressed to make that case. I think it simply reflects a personal preference. Rainey was much more likely to get injured, get a penalty, or fumble, or get arrested. I enjoyed Rainey and loved that we had them both. I think it's hard to claim that Rainey was "more of a running back." You'd need to define that one.

View attachment 59108 View attachment 59109

As to the claim that Rainey was faster at the 40 and Demps faster at the 100, I found this where Rainey's personal best was recorded at a college track meet. Rainey's PB is 6.7 in the 60 and Demps beat him that day with a 6.61. Demps' PB according to Wikipedia is 6.52.

View attachment 59110

Had no idea Zach Brown was so fast. I just think of him with toes in the water, a$$ in the sand…

 

[Bernardo de la Paz]

 

[Theologator]

Rainey had a way of going through a few “false” starts until he got his A+ takeoff, which he could carry through to win in 40 yards, but 60m or 100m guys like Demps or Harvin would pull away with higher top end speed.

And as was said earlier, he could dodge guys in a phone booth. Fun times.

 

[soflagator]

Rainey was not (extraordinarily) fast. He was a shifty, quick, jitterbug with good speed, but he was not straight-line blazing like Demps. Before you trust your memory, watch these highlights. One running back wins races in the open field while one cuts back against the grain and/or gets caught from behind. You may want to pay particular attention to the Criminole Safety at about the 6:20 mark. Rainey may make you miss a tackle in a phone booth, but if you let Demps get even with you, it's over.



People say Toney was blazingly fast too when he was much more similar to Rainey.

Love all three, so this isn’t to take away from any of them. But the biggest thing that stands out to me from that video, and my recollection, is that the majority of those Demps/Rainey clips are against marginal or lower competition. Percy stands out because of how he dominated against the upper level teams, where the other two(outside of some exceptions) had a tendency to kind of disappear. To be fair, they didn’t have the same coach in 2010-2011 and even 2009 was a shell of its former self under Daz, but I still just remember PH making incredible plays against even the better teams.

Also noticed one of those scores from Demps against UK made it 35-0 with like 12min+ in the second quarter. That’s why we never lost to those teams. Bury them early and force them to toss game plans out the window in either panic or quit.

 

[5-Star Finger]

That's pretty vague and hard to define. I think you'd be hard pressed to make that case. I think it simply reflects a personal preference. Rainey was much more likely to get injured, get a penalty, or fumble, or get arrested. I enjoyed Rainey and loved that we had them both. I think it's hard to claim that Rainey was "more of a running back." You'd need to define that one.

Thanks for reminding me why I've been scarce. Don't lose the plot. They raced exactly one time head to head in the 40 - and Rainey won. This is both per both Rainey and a couple more guys that witnessed it. I don't have film of it and I wasn't there, but I believe what I've been told as the guy had nothing to gain with me by bull****ting - I was still going to send business his way. As someone else posted its been a thing for years.

As for more of a running back I mean that Rainey was a football guy that was fast and Demps was just next level faster than most guys - like Holiday. Both of the latter are one trick dudes. What I mean is that both benefited from a solid offensive line and with a marginal one Rainey would have been superior because he could do more than Demps.

@soflagator as usual is making sense. There was not an offensive skill player more dynamic than Percy Harvin.

Have a great summer.

 

[G8trwood]

Percy just picked lines and instantly accelerated through his cut. Guys grasping at air from misjudging his speed vs getting faked. Missed him by that much….