Pats officially sign Olympian Demps

FOXBORO -- The Patriots confirmed the signing of Olympic sprinter and former Florida Gators running back Jeff Demps on Friday evening. Demps is expected to join the team next week in Tampa as the team practices twice before it's game against the Buccaneers next Friday.

Demps, who was not drafted in April, stands 5-foot-7, 175 pounds and captured a silver medal for being part of the United States' 4x100-meter relay team at the London Olympics. He did not participate in the final race but contribued during preliminary heats.

In four years at Florida, Demps rushed for 2,470 yards and 23 touchdowns, and he averaged 28.8 yards per kickoff return.

"Good with the ball, good speed, caught the ball OK, a little bit undersized," Patriots personnel chief Nick Caserio said on Friday. "They've had some good offensive players, he and [Chris] Rainey split some time so they kind of used him some different ways. Florida has had a track record of some pretty good football players to come out of there. Anytime we go into a school, we'll look at everybody, regardless of whatever his circumstance is."

Last season, he carried the ball 98 times for 569 yards and six touchdowns, and he caught 16 passes for 172 yards. His 5.8 yards-per-carry average as a senior was the lowest of his college career. He projects as a potential kick returner in the NFL.

"He had a little bit of production," Caserio said. "How that translates over, the schemes are different. Any returner that comes into the NFL, whatever did in college schematically is probably going to be a lot different than what we're going to ask him to do."

For more, visit the Patriots team page at weei.com/patriots.