Where are They Now Wednesday – Earthwind Moreland
Wednesday of each week during the football season Georgia Southern Athletics will catch up with a former coach, administrator, student-athlete, trainer, cheerleader, etc. to see where they are now and how their time at Georgia Southern helped get them there.
Earthwind Moreland
Physical Education Teacher at Heritage Academy
Atlanta, Ga.
Earthwind Moreland was a four-year member of the Georgia Southern football team from 1996-99. He was a part of the 1999 national championship team. His 80-yard touchdown grab from Greg Hill in 1996 was not only his first touchdown reception of his career but also set a school record at the time. The grab still ranks fourth all-time behind Jayson Foster's 85-yard touchdown reception in 2006. Moreland moved to defensive back during his career at GSU and was an All-American selection in 1999.
Q: Give fans an idea on what you are doing now?
EM: "My role as a physical educator is interesting. I work with kids who range from 5-12 years old. With that range you get all different kind of athletic ability and sports knowledge. A big part of my job is to try to instill in kids a desire to be active. At the end of the year the older kids have to take the Fitnessgram. It is a battery of tests that check your flexibility, endurance, aerobic capacity and body composition. It measures different things and checks each kid against a scale to see if they are in a fit zone for their age, height and weight. This information not only goes to the student but is also a full report to the parent to let them know where their child stands."
Q: What are some of your most memorable moments as an Eagle?
EM: "Our first running test and practice was very memorable. With the class of guys like Greg Hill, Bennie Cunningham, Rich McGrath, Mark Williams, myself and just that whole list of people we had coming in, I just knew something special was going to happen. When I was playing offense, going down to the Swamp and playing against those guys was pretty neat. They had Jevon Kearse, Jacquez Green, Danny Wuerffel and won the national championship that year. Another memorable moment was when I got my first touchdown on offense. It was about an 80-yard pass reception against Liberty. Getting that first collegiate touchdown was very exciting. When I went over to defense it was fun playing with those guys. Our starting secondary then was comprised of three guys who came in to play offense and one that was playing basketball."
Q: What was it like to play in the NFL and be a part of a Super Bowl team?
EM: "My first coach was Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay. That staff was just like the New England Patriots staff that I would play for later in my career. Rod Marinelli was the defensive line coach, Lovie Smith was the linebackers coach, Monte Kiffin was the defensive coordinator and Herm Edwards was my secondary coach. Pretty much all of those defensive coaches became head coaches in the NFL. I transitioned to a few different teams before I arrived at the Patriots. After being in two national championships and winning one I thought this is it, but to play in the final game of the year and know that everybody is watching you was something else."
Q: What brought you to Georgia Southern?
EM: "I was a walk-on to start my career at Georgia Southern. My best friend and I went down to GSU to visit together. Fernando Daniel was a star basketball player down there. We had been playing sports with each other since elementary school. I started out playing offense the first few years before Paul Johnson called me in and told me he wanted me to move to defense. I had a good camp and spring and later got a partial and then full scholarship."
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