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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Chris Rainey remained in his stance after the command was given to start the 40-yard dash, receiving a smattering of boos from the 60,000 fans at Florida Field.
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It was about the only thing he did wrong Saturday.
Rainey ran for 75 yards and a touchdown, added a 65-yard scoring reception and was the biggest star in Florida's spring game. The 5-foot-9, 177-pound running back teamed with Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow to help the Blue team beat the Orange squad 28-14.
"I thought he would do that and he did that," coach Urban Meyer said. "I think Chris Rainey is going to be a very, very fine football (player). ... I was really impressed with the way he ran today, but he's done that all spring."
Rainey provided most of the highlights early on, and the first one came before the opening drive.
Rainey was one of three players Meyer selected to race against the school's fastest students. If any of the contestants beat Meyer's speedsters, the coach guaranteed a scholarship.
Rainey almost cost the school a full ride. He misunderstood the starting directions and ended up standing on the starting line shaking his head as his opponents sped away.
Officials called a do-over, and Rainey responded with a run of 4.24 seconds -- about 5 yards ahead of the field and the fastest 40-yard dash of his career.
"That was really fun," said Rainey, who admitted his legs were shaking beforehand. "I told Coach they need to do that every year. I do like that."
Rainey was equally dominant when the game started.
He ran four times for 41 yards on the opening drive, showing the kind of moves teammates, coaches and Florida fans usually expect from Percy Harvin. Two drives later, he lined up wide and found him uncovered down the field.
"That was a bad idea," Rainey said.
Indeed. Rainey caught Tebow's long pass in stride, juked safety Ahmad Black and strolled untouched into the end zone for a 14-0 lead. He added a 1-yard scoring leap two drives later and put Blue ahead 21-7.