Moody happy about I-formation in practice

[O-town Gator]

"Maybe UF coach Urban Meyer isn't excited about the prospects of the I-formation in Gainesville, but one of his running backs is.

Meyer said earlier this week that the I-form may not last long for the Gators due to a lack of depth at tight end and fullback, but running back Emmanuel Moody is enjoying the new package.

“It definitely excites me, because it’s just another way to get the ball to the running back,” Moody said. “I feel like one of the reasons they did it was to give the running backs a head of steam so we can use our vision more.”


Moody excelled in a pro-style offense as a freshman at Southern Cal and earned Pacific-10 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year honors, but adapting to the spread wasn’t an easy task in his first year at UF.

Moody tallied 417 yards and one touchdown on 58 carries last season — still a better yards-per-carry average than he notched at USC — but he was never a primary option in the rushing game.

He said he’s comfortable in the spread now and looking forward to playing more freely, without having to think as much as he did in 2008."

Link: http://www.alligator.org/articles/2009/04/02/sports/football/090402_notes.txt

 

[gatorsfootball#1]

I believe that the I-formation will be the only way the Moody is going to be successfull at Florida.

 

[MahxFahn]

This all sounds very promising for all of us who are fans and have been waiting for the kind of performance we think he is capable of!

Emmanuel Moody is finally taking advantage of the thought of becoming Florida’s every-down running back.


A year after transferring to Florida from USC because of the Trojans’ crowded backfield, Moody found himself in a similar situation.
Injuries marred Moody’s chance at taking the starting job at running back, forcing UF to mostly use two smaller, speedier athletes in Jeffrey Demps and Chris Rainey. While not power backs like the 6-foot, 210-pound Moody, Demps and Rainey accumulated more than 1,200 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns in 2008.
Moody, who was expected to be the all-purpose running back that UF coach Urban Meyer so desperately wanted, carried the ball mostly in cleanup duty, finishing with 417 rushing yards and a touchdown.
With Demps not participating in spring football practice in order to concentrate on track, Moody’s getting the chance to show that he can play a more pivotal role in UF’s offense in 2009.
“Right now, I feel real comfortable with the offense and real comfortable with the coaches,” Moody said after Wednesday’s practice.
In order to get that comfortable, Moody said he’s devoted most of his time to learning what everyone around him is doing in the offense, not just what his job is. He’s learning more about the offensive schemes and concepts and what the offensive line is doing on certain plays.
But it’s not just comfort Moody is striving for. It’s trust. Durability hurt him last year, but with him at full health this spring, Moody said he’s hoping to gain some trust back from his coaches.
“Trust is simply consistency,” Moody said. “It’s to be consistent every day — about not having one good day and then sucking the next day. Day in and day out, being consistent and having a good attitude and showing the coaches that you’re here to play.”
Running backs coach Kenny Carter has definitely seen a change in Moody’s practice approach this spring.
“The thing that happened to him from the end of the season to now coming into the spring is he has really bought into what we’re trying to do in our system,” Carter said. “He understands what we’re doing, and he’s more comfortable. We expect him to really take off now and be the guy that we expected him to be when he transferred here.”
Carter said he’s still looking to utilize all of his running backs in the offense this fall, but after watching Moody this spring, he said he wouldn’t be surprised if he took over most of the backfield duties in the future.
“It means a lot to him (to be the No. 1 running back),” Carter said, “And you can see it in the way he’s playing.”

ORIGIN

 

[O-town Gator]

Sounds like Moody had hand surgery, but will be back this week: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_uf/2009/04/florida-gators-rb-moody-needs-strong-spring-finish-after-surgery.html