Emmanuel Moody Emmanuel Moody ( born February 21 , 1987 in Heidelberg , Germany ) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent . He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2011 . He played college football for the University of Florida ( UF ) Gators football team . Early career . Moody was born to Young Sun ( née Chang ) as the youngest of three children , raised in the Dallas , Texas area . His father left the family early , leaving him to be raised by his mother and his grandmother , Han Soon Chang . And Moody ' s uncle began helping him practice and train for football after seeing how well he performed in pee wee football . Physically a late bloomer , coaches initially hesitated to put him in the running back role that he desired . When his family moved to the suburb of Coppell , Texas , Coppell High School already had a highly regarded senior running back , one of the best in school history , and asked the sophomore Moody to spend a season at wide receiver . After insistence by himself and his uncle , Moody was allowed to play running back at the junior varsity level . During that time , Moody grew taller and put on 25 pounds . His junior season saw him rise to the varsity team where he finished the season with 1 , 319 yards and 12 touchdowns . His abilities attracted interest from a number of prominent college football programs , notably Texas , Miami and Southern California . Moody originally verbally committed to Texas , but USC linebacker coach Ken Norton was able to eventually persuade Moody to change his commitment to the Trojans , enticing him to the challenge of competing against a number of other talented running backs . College career . University of Southern California ( 2006 – 2007 ) . Moody started his college career at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles . As a true freshman , Moody was the second leading rusher in the 2006 season , gaining 458 yards on 79 carries in a rotating platoon of running backs . He was named the Pacific - 10 Conference Freshman of the Year in 2006 . In the summer before the 2007 season , he was featured as one of three USC running backs on the regional cover of " Sports Illustrated " ' s college football preview edition . The Trojans entered their 2007 fall training camp with a high number of scholarship running backs ( 10 ) , all of which were highly touted recruits ; in August , midway through camp , Moody announced he was transferring from USC . Looking to be a featured player , Moody stated he had " felt forgotten " coming into training camp because of an ankle injury that forced him to sit out the Trojans ' last four games of the 2006 season and a hamstring injury that caused him to sit out nearly all of spring practice ; he then bruised his knee at a mid - camp scrimmage and had to sit out further . After looking at several schools , including Oklahoma State and North Carolina , Moody transferred to the University of Florida . University of Florida ( 2007 – 2010 ) . As required by NCAA transfer rules , Moody was forced to sit out the 2007 season with the Florida Gators ; but was permitted to practice with the scout team . Welcomed by a team that needed a power running back to relieve quarterback Tim Tebow , Moody had some difficulties adapting to the spread offense used by the Gators . He had 58 carries for 379 yards in the 2009 season and 66 carries for 265 yards in 2010 . Moody participated in the Gator Pro Day but was not drafted in the 2011 NFL Draft . Professional career . Buffalo Bills . On July 26 , 2011 Moody signed with the Buffalo Bills . He was released on August 5 .