A few questions with Emmanuel Moody

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

Perhaps nothing at spring practice is more anticipated than the opportunity to watch tailback Emmanuel Moody show what he can do. Moody transferred from Southern Cal last August but spring ball will be the first chance Gator fans have to see Moody in action.

Gator Country caught up with Moody after practice Friday afternoon.

Q: “How do you assess your performance after two days?”

A: “I’m feeling good. I’m getting used to the offense and starting to get comfortable. I’m trying to play fast.”

Q: “What are some of the changes you have to deal with running the ball from the shotgun?”

A: “It’s just different from taking the ball from under the center. You’ve got the quarterback right next to you the whole time. You’ve got to switch which arm you put up first, and the steps are all different. I’m trying to get used to that.”

Q: “You’ve played at USC and now Florida, how do you compare the talent at the two schools?”

A: “There’s a lot more speed out here.”

Q: “How do you compare the way practices are run?”

A: “We had a three hour practice today. They’re definitely longer out here! They were only two hours out there.

Q: “Compare and contrast Urban Meyer and Pete Carroll.”

A: “Urban is going to tell you like it is. If you don’t like it, he’s still going to tell you. Coach Carroll, he’ll tell you like it is, but not so much.”

Q: “Do you like hearing Urban tell you how it is?”

A: “Oh yeah, because you know where you stand. You know the honest truth.”

Q: “What was your role in practices last fall?”

A: “In the fall, I was just observing. They were preparing for games so I couldn’t really take many reps. In the spring I’m getting opportunities to help out for the ’08 season.”

Q: “What was Urban’s message to you when he was trying to convince you to come to Florida?”

A: “He told me I had to come in here and have the chance to compete. No matter what school you go to you have to compete. They really can’t say, ‘Hey, you’re the man’. What I proved at USC is done with. I have to prove I can do it over here.”

Q: “What has stood out about Florida so far?”

A: “I love that Coach Meyer has installed the fact that we need the camaraderie, a team relationship and we need to play for each other. We need to take out the selfish attitudes. If you have to play on special teams, play on special teams. You should be fighting for that. He’s taken out the selfish aspect of the game. The players are buying into the system that Coach Meyer is feeding out. I have a lot of respect for him.”