Ahmad Black gives hope to the small fries

GAINESVILLE -- I don't have time to blog much right now (working on a story) but I will share some numbers and information I've been researching this morning. Ahmad Black was a third-string cornerback last season and now he is the Gators' starting strong safety. He's listed at 5-9, 190 pounds, but his actual numbers are more like 5-8, 185 pounds (and that's being generous).

Did you know, Black is not only the smallest starting strong safety in the SEC, he's also the smallest starting strong safety among teams in this week's AP Top 25. Here's the breakdown.

AP TOP 25 STARTING STRONG SAFETIES
No.1 USC, Kevin Ellison (6-1, 230)
No.2 Oklahoma, Nic Harris (6-3, 230)
No.3 Georgia, C.J. Byrd (6-2, 198)
No.4 Florida, Ahmad Black (5-9, 190)
No.5 LSU, Harry Coleman (6-2, 205)
No.6 Missouri, Justin Garrett (6-2, 200)
No.7 Texas, Blake Gideon (6-1, 197)
No.8 Alabama, Justin Woodall (6-2, 220)
No.9 Wisconsin, Jay Valai (5-9, 197)
No.10 Texas Tech, Daniel Charbonnet (5-11, 203)
No.11 BYU, David Tafuna (6-1, 211)
No.12 Penn State, Mark Rubin (6-3, 216)
No.13 South Florida, Danny Verpaele (5-11, 207)
No.14 Ohio State, Jermale Hines (6-2, 210)
No.15 Auburn, Zac Etheridge (6-0, 206)
No.16 Wake Forest, Kevin Patterson (5-10, 191)
No.17 Utah, Joe Dale (5-11, 197)
No.18 Kansas, Darrel Stuckey (6-1, 205)
No.19 Boise State, Ellis Powers (5-1, 200)
No.20 Clemson, Michael Hamlin (6-3, 205)
No.21 Vanderbilt, Ryan Hamilton (6-2, 210)
No.22 Illinois, Bo Flowers, 6-2, 218)
No.23 East Carolina, J.J. Milbrook, 5-9, 191)
No.24 TCU, Stephen Hodge (6-0, 212)
No.25 Fresno St., Moses Harris (5-11, 205)

OTHER SEC STARTING STRONG SAFETIES
Arkansas, Dallas Washington (6-0, 210)
Kentucky, Ashton Cobb (6-0, 208)
Ole Miss, Jamarca Sanford (6-0, 200)
State, Keith Fitzhugh (5-11, 205)
South Carolina, Emanuel Cook (5-10, 214)
Tennessee, Eric Berry (5-11, 195)

Hey, kids. Don't ever let anyone tell you you're too small to play football. Just look at Ahmad Black. Through three games, Florida has one of the best defenses in the country and Black is not only a starter, but he is tied for second in the Southeastern Conference in interceptions (two).

-jo-