Two years after escaping a congested backfield at Southern California, Emmanuel Moody is in familiar territory.
Moody transferred to UF hoping to become the Gators' every-down back, but injuries and a slew of talented teammates have him fighting for playing time.
From the beginning, Moody had concerns about whether or not he would be able to fit into UF's spread offense.
"Coming in here, that's definitely one thing I had on my mind. But sitting down with coach Meyer and the other coaches, they were just telling me, 'If we have a back that can do it, we will do it,'" Moody said.
While the 6 foot, 210-pound Moody spent his time in and out of the lineup during UF's national championship run last season, the smaller, quicker Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps combined for 11 touchdowns and nearly 1,300 yards.
Moody rushed for 417 yards and a touchdown in 2008, but most of his carries came well after games had been won.
Moody said he spent the off-season with his playbook and has eased concerns coaches once had about his knowledge of the offensive schemes.
"Right now, I feel real comfortable with the offense and real comfortable with the coaches," Moody said.
With Demps opting to forgo the rest of spring practice to focus on track, Moody hopes he can start to win over the coaching staff.
"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. (It's about) 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 said Moody is playing with a new mentality this spring and that he's running the ball with more confidence than he did a year ago.
"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."
With the departure of playmaker Percy Harvin and the addition of under-center I-formation packages to the offense this spring, Moody might be seeing more of the ball come fall.
"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."
Moody rushed for 459 yards on 79 carries for two touchdowns in just 9 games in his one season with the Trojans.
"Could he be that guy? Absolutely," UF coach Urban Meyer said. "But that means pass protection. That means every day. We haven't seen that yet."
Moody was a Parade All-American in high school and named the Pacific-10 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2006 before transferring to UF.
"All I can handle is what I can handle," Moody said. "All I can control is my attitude. I try to just be positive and have a good attitude about the situation I'm in."
