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Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Moody must prove he can protect the ball to earn more time

Running back Emmanuel Moody is still working to regain his coaches' full trust after fumbling last week.

The redshirt junior coughed up the ball on his first carry against Troy and didn't touch the ball the rest of the game.

"I don't know where he stands in his mindset, but he knows where I stand in my mind," running backs coach Kenny Carter said. "You can't turn the ball over.

"We have things that we do to take care of that when they do fumble. He knows why he fumbled, that's the No. 1 thing."

Now, Moody has to fight to get back into a rotation with two other talented backs, sophomores Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey. Moody was second on the team in rushing - nine carries for 86 yards - in Florida's season opener.

"He has to get himself in a position where he earns our trust again and he will," Carter said. "Unfortunately those things happen but there's a price to pay for it.

"You're always going to hang on that one time when a guy fumbles. You have to continue to be diligent in practice and prove that it was an accident."

DEBOSE HAS SURGERY: Wide receiver Andre Debose underwent successful surgery Thursday to repair a torn hamstring tendon in his left thigh. Full recovery is expected to take four to six months.

Coach Urban Meyer said he gave his prized recruit the same speech he gives to all players dealing with a serious injury.

"It's not the injury to the athlete that matters, it's the reaction to the injury," Meyer said. "We don't have a player on the team that's not been banged up or hurt. That's part of the game. It's the reaction. If you go in the tank, fall behind in school, act like you're miserable, don't take advantage of an opportunity to get bigger and stronger, that's the reaction."

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