OEO: Matt Elam, Jeff Demps, And Gators Basketball

One Eyed Observations of the Florida Gators. TBG asking; OEW answering.

The Bull Gator: Matt Elam. Problem? Or nothing to worry about?

One Eyed Willy: Wait a second…an underage student was drinking at the University of Florida. I am outraged. I am disgusted. And I am shocked. Having pledged a fraternity my freshman year, lived in a fraternity house my sophomore year and then lived with two fraternity brothers a stone’s throw away from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium my junior year (all prior to me turning the legal drinking age of 21 mind you), and having never taken a sip of alcohol during that entire period, I think it is morally reprehensible that Matt Elam would drink at such a young and impressionable age. And to know that this is not his first offense with something this despicable…well, that just chaps my ass! Matt Elam should be removed from the team immediately so that his devious ways do not infect the other members of the locker room and so that he may receive the counseling and therapy that he so desperately needs. Shame on you Matt Elam. Shame on you!

TBG: For some reason people are surprised Jeff Demps is coming back for his final year of football. What does this mean for the running back position?

OEW: Based on the way the question is wording, it sounds as though you, like me, were a little taken back by the fact that so many fans seemed genuinely surprised when Jeff Demps officially said he was returning for the 2011 football season. But when you look a little closer at what Demps has been doing over the past few weeks, maybe people had a good reason to believe that he would skip his senior year on the gridiron.

Demps spent last week in Italy participating in a camp with the U.S. National Track Team. Ten sprinters nationwide were invited to the camp and six will be selected to represent the United States at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea from August 27th to September 4th. From what I can tell, those six have yet to be selected, but it seems based on Demps’ recent comments about being at UF for the first day of fall practices, which begin on August 6th, he has taken himself out of the running (pun intended).

You have to wonder if this is the right move for someone like Demps. Let’s face it, he probably does not have the natural ability or size to make it in the NFL. But he certainly has the speed to be one of the best of the best in the track and field world. So if his future lies with running track rather than running through holes in the offensive line, maybe the best career move for Demps is to focus more on his sprinting and less on football.

As far as what this means for the running back position at Florida, I think it’s safe to say that this is a huge boost for that unit. Demps is the Gators’ most experienced running back on the team and he defines the word “playmaker.” You hear prognosticators describe a lot of running backs as saying they have the ability to “take it to the house every time they touch the football.” With Demps, this isn’t just some clever saying, but the absolute truth. With his speed and his ability to find the open hole, having someone like Demps on the field can change the entire outcome of a game in a heartbeat. And when you combine Demps with Chris Rainey, the Gators may just have the backfield they need to make Gator fans forget about 2010 in a hurry.

TBG: Should we even be thinking about basketball this time of year?

OEW: NO! And you call yourself a football fan.