GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Chris Rainey has spoken several times in recent weeks about how thankful he is that he is still here.
Still at UF, still playing for the Gators, still able to make would-be tacklers reach for him and come up with nothing but air.
After his first two games as a head coach, Will Muschamp is thankful Rainey is still here, too.
Rainey once again played a huge role on Saturday night in Florida’s 39-0 win over UAB. With his backfield mate Jeff Demps missing most of the game due to an unspecified injury, Rainey was the difference maker.
Rainey had his third career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 119 yards on a career-high-tying 16 carries (7.4 yards per rush). He also caught three passes for 43 yards, giving him a career-high 162 yards of total offense.
Rainey’s performance Saturday followed his three-touchdown effort in the season opener against FAU when he became the third player in the country since 1996 to score three touchdowns in three different ways in the same game – rushing, receiving and on a return.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve watched a guy that is extremely competitive,’’ Muschamp said. “He does everything you want a good football player to do in order to contribute to your team. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him.’’
As the Gators turn their focus to the SEC opener against Tennessee, Rainey’s focus will be on the Vols as well. That’s something that he couldn’t say a year ago when he found himself in the headlines because of off-the-field troubles in the days leading up to Florida-Tennessee game.
Rainey missed the trip to Knoxville and four other games before finally returning to the field in Jacksonville in Florida’s win over Georgia. Since then, Rainey has steered clear of trouble and kept people talking about what he does on the field.
In two games this season, he has given everyone plenty to talk about. Rainey leads the Gators in rushing (198 yards) and receiving (nine catches for 110 yards) as the centerpiece of Florida’s offense.
UAB’s defense had no answer for him on Saturday.
“He is a very good back,’’ Blazers coach Neil Callaway said. “He is very elusive. He has tremendous speed and quickness and is hard to hem up. We worked hard on containing him but obviously it didn’t do much good.”
Blazers linebacker Marvin Burdette said Rainey takes his “running, cuts and angles to perfection.’’
Rainey’s most impressive moment Saturday was on his 19-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter that put the Gators in front 32-0. He sliced through the middle of the Blazers’ defensive line, used the cutting and elusiveness that drove Burdette and his teammates nuts, and then did a backward dive into the end zone.
In Rainey’s view it was just another day at the office.
“I’m just doing my job, scoring a touchdown for my team,’’ he said afterward. “I’ve been trying to cut real fast, run out on the cut and try not to slow down.’’
Gators quarterback John Brantley likes what he has seen from Rainey since he returned from his off-the-field troubles and rejoined the team. Rainey remains a jokester and keeps the team loose – he stuck his head in teammate Trey Burton’s session with reporters on Saturday to ask a quick question – but he has also grown up according to those who are around him daily.
“He’s matured a lot this year,’’ Brantley said. “I think knowing that this is his last season, he has to finish strong.’’
In Saturday’s win, Rainey reeled off four runs of 10 or more yards, showing why offensive coordinator Charlie Weis plans to feed him the ball regularly. The only concern for the Gators is not using Rainey too much. He had to leave the field momentarily Saturday after taking a good hit, but he came back and went back to work making UAB tacklers miss and providing the Gators with their most dangerous offensive threat.
Now he has one more shot to make the Vols miss, something Rainey missed a year ago.
“He is extremely electric with the ball in his hands," Muschamp said. "He is one of those guys who genuinely likes football. I think he positively affects everybody in the organization. I’m glad he’s a Gator.’’
By SCOTT CARTER
GatorZone.com Senior Writer
GatorZone.com Senior Writer
