Moody has accepted reality, hopes to finish career strong
Friday, November 26, 2010 | Football, Gymnastics, Scott Carter
Fifth-year senior running back Emmanuel Moody arrived in Gainesville with a lot of hype and his name in plenty of headlines.
Moody rushed for 459 yards as a freshman at USC in 2006, but with a crowded backfield in Los Angeles, Moody opted to transfer to Florida before his sophomore season.
After he sat out the 2007 season, Moody rushed for 417 yards in 2008 and 378 in 2009. He enters his final regular-season game with the Gators needing 195 yards to leave UF with a better season than the one he had as a freshman at USC.
Moody is fourth on the team with 66 carries for 265 yards, rushing for a season-high 56 yards on four carries in last week's win over Appalachian State.
While Moody has not developed into the Gators' featured back, he started three games this season (USF, Alabama, LSU) but was plagued by injuries and missed the Mississippi State and Georgia games.
Moody has accepted that injuries and other factors prevented him from reaching some of his personal goals.
“It's my fifth year now. If I haven't learned by now, then I won't ever learn,'' Moody said. “I don't really care about statistics. My statistics this year aren't great, so why really stress now? I'm just ready to finish this year out as a team, and hopefully we beat Florida State and make a good bowl.”
Moody is set to graduate Dec. 18 with a degree in family, youth and community science. He said one day he plans to do mission work and help underprivileged youth. As for football, he isn't ruling out an attempt at a professional career despite his decrease in production.
“That's my dream ever since I've played football,'' Moody said. “I'm going to take football as far as football allows me to go. I just believe that when I'm healthy everything else will take care of itself.''
