The most recent seven days of Jeff Demps' life could soon include both an Olympic silver medal and an NFL contract. The former Florida running back is reportedly close to a decision on his NFL future, which he plans to make by Thursday night, according to his agent. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are considered one of the front-runners for his services.
Only the Bucs and the New York Jets have disclosed interest in Demps publicly, but of those two teams, the Bucs make more sense: Tampa Bay has a pair of thumping backs in LeGarrette Blount and Doug Martin, but no one who can even approximate Demps' world-class speed out of the backfield.
What's more, Demps is a local boy for the Bucs, and not just because he played just up I-75 for Florida in college. He played football and ran track for South Lake High School in Lake County, separated from Hillsborough County by only a chunk of Polk County.
For more on Demps' potential NFL landing spots, head to Bucs Nation and SB Nation Tampa Bay for Bucs coverage and Gang Green Nation and SB Nation New York for Jets coverage. And for more on Demps' Olympic and collegiate exploits, visit Alligator Army, SB Nation's Florida blog.