Patriots hoping, wishing and praying they found another Mike Wallace...

The [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] announced the signing of the Olympian late Friday night, finally confirming reports that swirled throughout the day of an imminent deal. Contract terms were undisclosed.

"To everyone wondering, yes it's true I'm now a new England patriot," [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. "Glad to be apart of the team. It's truly an honor. #Godisgreat"

The mission is apparent. Demps, 22, a running back and kick returner at Florida who went undrafted as he focused on track, is positioned to provide the Patriots with a jolt of world-class speed for their lackluster kickoff-return game. He will also add depth in the backfield.

Demps, 5-foot-7 and 191 pounds, chose the Patriots over several other teams that expressed interest, including the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. His agent, Daniel Rose, said Thursday that at least five teams had shown "super serious" interest in Demps since he won a medal as part of the U.S. Olympic squad's 4x100-meter relay team that was beaten out for the gold medal by Jamaica.

At Florida, Demps averaged 6.7 yards per carry in rushing for 2,470 yards and 23 TDs. He also returned 21 kickoffs during his career, averaging 28.8 yards with a TD.

"If he's committed to football over track, the guy can be a dynamic sub package option for an offense in the NFL," [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] says. "A big-play threat who can create mismatches in the pass game and hit the home run when you get him in space."

Friday afternoon, before the signing was announced, Patriots personnel director [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] confirmed the team's interest in scouting Demps.

"Good with the ball, good speed, caught the ball OK, a little bit undersized," Caserio said during his regularly-scheduled weekly briefing with reporters. "Florida has a track record of some pretty good football players that have come out of there. But any time we go into a school, we'll look at everybody, regardless of whatever their circumstance is."

Obviously, the Patriots liked what they saw in Demps.

Diamond in the ruff?

Dmounts wrote:Diamond in the ruff?

Years ago, around the end of Chuck Noll's career, we picked up a WR named Dwight Stone who if my memory serves me correctly had world class speed but couldn't catch a pass consistently if his life depended upon it. He earned his nickname well, "stone-hands." So it takes more than speed to be a great receiver in the NFL.