Friday, April 11, 2008

Beat The Fastest Gators, Win A Scholarship

When I attended the University of Florida, I heard stories about how some of my new classmates/friends/etc. were great high school athletes. How they could have had a full ride to some college, but they didn't want to go to school there or they got injured at some point. No doubt, some of them were indeed standouts in their respective sports. Unfortunately, none of them were given the opportunity to win a full scholarship by beating a Florida football player in a 40-yard dash.

Though, these aren't just any Florida football players. They are some of, if not the fastest guys on the team. It's a group that includes Chris Rainey, Deonte Thompson and Louis Murphy. Now, Rainey and Thompson are well known burners. They were highly sought after recruits, and Rainey even has a few parking lot wins against Noel Devine under his belt. However, Murphy might be the fastest out of the group. At least he was last summer.

Florida wide receivers Andre Caldwell and Percy Harvin have this thing about speed, and debating who's the fastest player on the team. When they start talking smack about it (which apparently is often), Louis Murphy dishes out the line that ends the argument.

Continue to 2nd paragraph "I just tell them to look at the board," Murphy said.

The board Murphy refers to is the one hanging in the UF weight room that lists the players with the fastest 40-yard dash times on the team. The name on top isn't Caldwell or Harvin. It's Murphy. And next to his name is the staggering time: 4.25 seconds.

"We're always talking about speed and racing each other," Murphy said. "They always say they can beat me. I tell them, "Hey, it's on the board."

Seriously? A 4.25? Murphy could take it easy the entire way, kick it on at the end and still blow out his competition. Either way, it's going to be fun to watch, and it's a great way for Urban Meyer to showcase the football program on a national stage since it's being broadcast on ESPN. And just to show you what the students are up against, here are some videos/links displaying their skills.

Chris Rainey


Deonte Thompson

Louis Murphy

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