Thunder's Moody delighting in alma mater's national title
January 11, 2007 - World Indoor Football League 2 (WIFL 2)
Daytona Beach Thunder News Release
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Tommy Moody's days as a Florida Gator were winding down when Chris Leak, Dallas Baker and the rest of the guys were setting up shop in Gainesville.
But once a Gator, always a Gator. And Gator Nation was always a tight-knit group even before Florida beat the snot out of Ohio State Monday night in the BCS National Game.
Like everyone else loyal to the Orange and Blue, Moody, who will anchor the Daytona Beach Thunder's offensive line come February, took a great deal a pleasure in watching his successors mash the Buckeyes 41-14. Unlike 70 percent of the state's work force, the former Gator linemen had a productive workday Tuesday at Spruce Creek High School.
It's Great...To Be ... A Florida Gator ...
"When you think about it, it was ten years since the last national championship [Florida beat Florida State in the 1997 Sugar Bowl] and it's the 100th year of Gator football. That makes it special," Moody said. "The country didn't respect the team but we knew they could do it. They put the work in and did it right."
After completing his playing career in 2001, Moody remained in Gainesville to prep for the NFL. While there, he had a chance to interact with the then-incoming class that constituted the core of this championship team. He and Baker, another Volusia county product from New Smyrna Beach, visited when Baker briefly came home for the holidays.
While watching Monday's game, Moody was most impressed with the play of Florida's defensive line, which forced six sacks and played a key role in limiting Heisman trophy winner Troy Smith to 34 yards passing. "They [the line] had the speed and were physical," Moody said. "They took over the game."
He also had praise for his successors on the o-line.
"I wasn't worried about how the line would do,'' Moody said. "Except for a couple of plays, they held their own and kept Chris from getting touched. OSU's defense was never a factor."
Moody returns to the Thunder after garnering a first All-Southern conference lineman nod in another indoor football league during Daytona Beach's inaugural 2006 season. The Thunder hosts the inaugural World Indoor Football game on Sunday, February 11 against the Augusta Spartans.
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