This Ain’t No Track Meet
By JWilson on Apr 19, 2008 in Football, Humor, Preview
A quick one from ESPN’s Big East Notebook:
West Virginia tailback Noel Devine, one of college football’s most fleet-footed players, didn’t have to see Florida freshman Chris Rainey run for 75 yards and catch a 65-yard touchdown pass in the Gators’ spring game to know Rainey was fast.
When Devine was still attending North Fort Myers High School in Florida, he participated in a flag football tournament in Rainey’s hometown of Lakeland, Fla. Some of Rainey’s friends obtained Devine’s cell phone number and challenged him to race Rainey in a parking lot near Devine’s hotel.
Rainey won the race. “I didn’t have my shoes on,” Devine said. “He got a good head start on me, but I was catching him at the end.”
Devine, who will become the Mountaineers’ primary runner this coming season, already has proved that he’s fast on the football field. Last season, he ran for 627 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 8.6 yards per carry. “This isn’t track,” Devine said. “This is football.”
Rainey ran the 40-yard dash in 4.24 seconds during a competition against a few Florida students on Saturday. It was the fastest time by a Gator during coach Urban Meyer’s tenure. Rainey figures to start at either running back or wide receiver this season.
Devine said he’s ready for a rematch whenever Rainey is willing to run against him again. “If that’s what he wants, I’ll show him that was then and this is now,” Devine said.
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