Florida Gators' Chris Rainey Should Shine at Wide Receiver

There only so many different ways to describe someone as being fast.

You could say he’s a burner, he’s fleet of foot, he’s got electric speed, and so and so on. Or maybe you could just say—he’s Chris Rainey.

The Florida junior’s name has become synonymous with speed over the last few years, dating all the way back to his high school days before he even stepped foot on the Gainesville campus. It’s no easy feat for a 5‘9 150 lb. running back to get the attention of major college football teams, but it only took one look at Rainey’s high school highlights to realize he could be something special.

The Lakeland product’s remarkable quickness was profoundly evident throughout his high school career as he blew by nearly every opponent and embarrassed every would be tackler by leaving them in his dust. Schools like Florida State, Miami, and Notre Dame all took notice and came calling with scholarship offers, but Rainey had his heart set on one school—the University of Florida.

Gator fans couldn’t have been more excited to have him. They welcomed him with open arms.

To announce his arrival to the school, all Rainey did was blaze a sub 4.3 40 yard dash time to earn fastest player on the team honors as just a young freshman. To do that at a school like a Florida that has super caliber athletes oozing from every nook and cranny is certainly a nice accomplishment to say the least.

Although his on the field performance was somewhat underwhelming in his first season, just one rushing attempt for ten yards, everyone knew Rainey had what it takes to be a superstar. If it weren’t for a shoulder injury that caused him to redshirt, the freshman could have had a much bigger impact early on.

Rainey would make up for it over the next two seasons. He managed to rush for over 1,000 yards in two years on a team that was stockpiled with offensive weapons. Rainey teamed up with fellow speedster Jeff Demps to create one of the most devastating and explosive rushing duos in the nation.

Now as Rainey enters his junior year, he’ll leave the running responsibilities in the hands of Demps and make the move out to wide receiver. He may be a bit raw with route running and the other nuances of the position, but with his agility and quickness, Rainey should iron out all the kinks rather quickly. His transition is one of the many quality changes for the new look Gators offense.

First-year starting quarterback John Brantley is going to be looking for consistent targets, and there should be none more intriguing than Chris Rainey. The junior receiver will team with the likes of Deonte Thompson and Andre Debose to give Brantley a formidable receiver group full of dangerous weapons.

Rainey may have fallen into a little hot water for his recent “prima donna” comments in reference to last year’s team that came up short in the SEC title game, but that should all be forgotten once he steps foot on the field this year.

Expect Rainey’s speed to be on full display for all to see during the 2010 season.