Chris Rainey
| Florida Gators – No. 1 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Running back |
| Class |  Senior |
| Major | Humanities and Letters |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | Lakeland, Florida |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 174 lb (79 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
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| High school | Lakeland High School, Lakeland, Florida |
| |
Chris Raineyis an American football running back. He currently attends the University of Florida in his senior year.
Early years
In high school, Rainey was a standout running back who helped to lead Lakeland High School to its 45th-consecutive victory, third-consecutive Class 5A state championship and second-straight USA Today national championship in 2006. He was rated fourth among all-purpose backs and 17th among Florida’s Top-100 by Scout.com and was also rated 34th on the ESPN150 list of top prospects. During his senior year he was chosen as a U.S. Army All-American and broke the school single season record with 32 touchdowns and 2,478 yards rushing. Rainey was also named Best Offensive Player by the Florida Sports Writers Association, all-county by the Lakeland Ledger and was the Ledger’s 2006 Offensive Player of the Year. Upon graduating, he had totaled more than 7,000 yards and 90 touchdowns.
College career
2007
Rainey received a medical redshirt after injuring his shoulder in the fourth game of the season. Finished the season with one rush for 10 yards, one punt return for 22 yards and one kickoff return of 39 yards.
2008
Played in all 14 games during his redshirt freshman season, tallying 84 rushes for 652 yards on the ground, including four touchdowns…A 2008 SEC All-Freshman selection…Garnered CollegeFootballNews.com All-Freshman Honorable Mention accolades…Was one of five Gators to record at least one 100-yards-plus rushing game in 2008…Had two games with 100 or more yards rushing (Arkansas and The Citadel)…Additionally reeled in three Tim Tebow passes for 37 yards…Scored his first career touchdown against Hawaii on a 33-yard run, the sixth-longest by any freshman in the first week of 2008 college football games…Rushed a career-high 11 times against LSU…Recovered his first fumble recovery as a member of the punt-block special teams’ unit against Kentucky…Also recorded a career-long 16-yard reception against UK…Rushed for 103 yards against Arkansas, including a career-long 75-yarder…Teammate Jeff Demps rushed for over a 100 yards against the Razorbacks and the duo marked the first time since 1997 that two Gator running backs rushed for 100 or more yards in the same game…Named the SEC Freshman of the Week after his performance against The Citadel, where he rushed for 142 yards on seven carries and scored one touchdown.
2009
Saw action in all 14 games in 2009, including starts against Kentucky, LSU and Arkansas on Homecoming…Rushed 89 times for 575 yards (6.5 avg.) and scored five touchdowns…Also had 10 receptions for 161 yards (16.1 avg.) and one receiving touchdown…As one of UF’s punt and kickoff returners, returned four punts for 40 yards (10.0 avg.) and five kickoffs for 144 yards (28.8 avg.) during the season… Ranked second among running backs on the Gators’ squad with his 575 total rushing yards…Had an exceptional, career-best showing in the 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl victory over Cincinnati, with 224 all-purpose yards, including 27 rushing yards, a career-high 71 receiving yards and 116 kick return yards…Ran back a career-long 51-yard kick return to start the second half of play against the Bearcats, the sixth-best return in Sugar Bowl history…Played in the 2009 SEC Championship Game versus Alabama, recording two rushes for seven yards…Had a stellar outing against FSU, rushing eight times for 73 yards, including a 45-yard advance that helped lead UF to its second score, a field goal, against the Seminoles…Showed versatility as a double-threat with a career day against FIU, where he scored the first receiving touchdown of his career and also ran for a score…Led the UF rushing attack against South Carolina, picking up 46 yards on 10 carries against the Gamecocks on the road…Had a career outing in UF’s 29-19 win over Mississippi State in Starkeville, rushing for 90 yards on a career-high 12 carries and scoring on an eight-yard scamper, his third rushing TD of the season…Surpassed the 1,000 career rushing yard mark in the win over the Bulldogs…Additionally blocked a key punt in UF’s win over the Mississippi State, the second for Rainey in 2009 and in his career at UF…Made the second start of his career at Florida at RB against LSU on the road, carrying four times for 11 yards…Blocked his first career punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown at Kentucky…Rushed for 64 yards and nine carries in the 23-13 win over Tennessee to open SEC play…Was Florida’s second-leading rusher the second game of the season against Troy, accumulating 85 yards on 12 carries, while scampering for a one-yard score in the third quarter…Had a 76-yard career-long rushing touchdown against Charleston Southern in the season opener that was his only attempt on the night…With the 76-yard score against CSU, Rainey became only the second player in school history to record two touchdown runs of 75 yards or more (tallied a 75-yard score against Arkansas in 2008), as Neal Anderson was the first (76 yards in ‘83 and 80 yards in ‘84).
2010
Appeared in eight games, starting six…Made starts against Miami University, Georgia, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Appalachian State and Florida State…Also appeared against USF and Penn State…Played wide receiver primarily, but shifted back to running back at times to aid UF’s injury-depleted running back group…Second on the Gators in rushing with 51 carries for 366 yards (7.2 avg)…Fourth on the squad in receptions and rushing, with 25 receptions for 216 yards (8.6 avg.)…Led the Gators with three receiving touchdowns and had two on the ground…Scored in five of the eight games in which he played this season…Had six rushes, three receptions and two punt returns against Penn State in the Outback Bowl, contributing 93 all-purpose yards, including a season-long 51-yard rush…Had 98 all-purpose yards against Florida State, recording 11 carries for 73 yards and four receptions for 25 yards…Led the Gators in all-purpose yards (110) against Appalachian State with 87 yards rushing and a 16-yard rushing touchdown on the opening drive, as well as 23 yards receiving…Led UF in both receiving (four catches for 32 yards) and rushing (five rushes for 32 yards) against South Carolina. Totaled 66 all-purpose yards, highlighted by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Reed in the fourth quarter…Led the Gators in all-purpose yards against Georgia and Vanderbilt (108 rushing yards, 118 receiving yards, 162 kick returns for 444 total yards)…Matched UF’s career record for blocked kicks with two versus Vanderbilt, giving him four in his career…Led Florida against Vanderbilt with four receptions for a career-high 75 yards, including a career-long 40-yard touchdown reception, and two blocked punts, for a combined 136 all-purpose yards…Returned to the lineup against Georgia and totaled 241 all-purpose yards (148 on kick return, 84 rushing, nine receiving)…Scored his first rushing touchdown of the year against Georgia, a season-high 20-yard rush to put the Gators on the scoreboard, 7-0. Rushed a career-high 16 times for 84 yards and had two receptions for nine yards…Returned six kickoffs for a career-high 148 yards (24.7 avg) against the Bulldogs…Had one catch for 15 yards versus USF…Recorded the second receiving touchdown of his career on a 25-yard catch in the season opener versus Miami University on the 4th down in the fourth quarter.
2011
Rainey is currently in the talks to be a Heisman trophy candidate.[1][2]
References
- ^ "Morning reads: Chris Rainey, Heisman candidate?". Orlando Sentinel. September 20, 2011.
- ^ "Florida, 'Bama defenses nearly mirror images". Fox Sports. September 20, 2011.