After finishing his college career as a Florida running back in January, Jeff Demps said that he wasn’t interested in being selected in the NFL draft, because he wanted to put all of his focus on trying to qualify for the Olympics. That decision worked well for Demps, who made it to London and won a silver medal as part of the American 4x100-meter relay team.
With that goal behind him, Demps now wants to make it in the NFL.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Demps is ready to play football and hoping to sign with some team now, with an eye to playing in the NFL this season. He’s a free agent who can sign with anyone.
It’s not surprising that Demps wants to play in the NFL: I wrote at the time that Demps declared he was focusing on track that it was possible he’d switch his focus to football after the Olympics, because for all but a tiny number of sprinters, there’s more money in football than there is in track.
And Demps ran for 2,470 yards and 23 touchdowns and averaged 28.8 yards per kickoff return at Florida, so he has a résumé that should impress NFL teams. It would be surprising if he’s not in some team’s training camp soon.
