Former Gator Demps plans to join Bucs in August

TAMPA — Olympic sprinter and NFL running back/kick returner Jeff Demps, who was traded to the Bucs in April, intends to join the team when his track season ends next month.

Demps' agent, Daniel Rose, said his client is awaiting word on whether he'll be included on the U.S. 4x100 relay team for the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. That event ends Aug. 18, freeing Demps to join the Bucs with two weeks left in the preseason.

Demps told the Patriots earlier this year he planned to spend his offseason running track. New England was not open to the idea and traded the former Gator to the Bucs.

Demps, 23, was a four-year standout in football and track at Florida and won silver at the 2012 Olympics as a member of the 4x100 team. He holds the national high school record in the 100 meters, 10.01 seconds, set at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials when he was a senior at South Lake High in Groveland.

Stephen F. Holder, Times staff writer