Former Florida DB Ahmad Black retires from football
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- Jul 23, 2014
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10 Years from a Championship: Ahmad Black with a huge milestone
https://247sports.com/college/flori...d-Black-with-a-huge-milestone-at-UF-118221328
There aren’t many people that smile more than Ahmad Black does. The gator Great safety that roamed the Florida secondary from 2007-2010, has a perpetual toothy smile on his face and you know he just loves life. These days, that smile is bigger than ever as Black is just a semester and a class from getting his degree at Florida, a place where he had made the best friends and had the fondest memories of his life.
“It’s like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Black said late last week when asked what it feels like being this close to having it done.
It took longer for me to get a Bachelor’s Degree, so I know what he feels like. But, Black had good reason, having gone to the NFL right after his last season on campus. Despite winning a national title and playing in the NFL, this opportunity that will present itself at the end of the summer is something that he holds at the top of his achievements, and so does his father Bruce Black.
“I graduate in August with a degree in Family, Youth, and Community Science,” he said “It’s going to be amazing just to say that I got a Bachelor’s from the school where I did so many great things at. I can actually put the alumni thing on my tag and actually feel like an alumnus instead of having an incompletion on that part of my life.
“I mostly did this for my dad. He always told me he was proud of me that I went to the NFL and did great things, but always said he would be more proud of me if I got my degree and finished. I wanted to do that while he was still around and kicking.
Black spent some time a year ago with the football team while he was taking classes as a consultant to the players having been a guy that has been there before. He likely got enough of that a year ago to know that he doesn’t want to make coaching something he wants to do in the future.
“I’m probably not going into coaching,” he said. “I train kids twice a week so I kind of enjoy that. I don’t mind doing that aspect of it; you know dealing with kids, but as far as high school or college, no.
Black has a plan for when he gets his degree and wants to tie it in with the sport he loves and show the importance to kids with staying in school and eventually getting a degree.
“Two to three time a week I help with kids,” Black said. “I am able to assist in those things as well as get a little bit of training and experience up under me. Also my girlfriend has a Bachelor’s from Florida. Her and my daughter are moving up here and we’re going to try and improvise a plan where I train the kids and she tutors them as well.
“A lot of kid’s parents worry about their grades. These kids take for granted that you really need these grades. They don’t know the severity of it when they’re growing up. We are instilling in their head that grades are important. We’re trying to get that going… training the kids, but more importantly make sure their minds are trained and tutored.”
(Photo: Ahmad Black)
Flashback to his playing years in Gainesville…
Now that he’s back he can find a lot of his old teammates and talk, but he’s always done that. Quite the social person, Black stays in touch with a lot of familiar names and remarks that they are like family to him.
He was asked what made things so special back then?
“Just the camaraderie we had in the locker room,” he said. “It’s a band of brothers. When we get together we talk about it all the time. I think people take for granted just how close we really were. I love those guys like they’re my own blood. To this day we’re all still very close, it’s never a drop off when I see those guys. It’s always the same attitude and same fun and same smiles that we had 10 years ago.
“Me and the Pouncey’s we’re cool. Probably the closest is (Chris) Rainey, Major (Wright), Moses Jenkins, kind of like the secondary bunch, we kind of stay tight with each other. Sprinkle in a few other guys. I still stay in contact with Maurice Hurt and Brandon Hicks. We were all together as a team.”
What has been missing in Gainesville?
If you follow Black on social media, you will know how much he cares about his Gators. When things are going well, he will tweet it out. When they aren’t and he sees an issue, he lets people know about it.
Since it’s been 10 years from the last championship, the positive tweets haven’t come in bunches. We all know about the coaching changes and how the other staffs didn’t work, and Black was asked to pinpoint a big reason why.
“I don’t want to really criticize from the outside, but we have to get back to the toughness we had, both physically and mentally,” he said. “That should be our first number one. Get back and get tough like we were before.”
The workouts and hard practices under Urban Meyer when Black was on campus were stuff of legends. Black says when he was telling some of the players that followed about what he was doing, they couldn’t believe what he was saying.
“I’ve spoken to the guys and when we halfway mention our workouts or what we used to do they are like, ‘What? Are you kidding me’,” he said. “It was rough. At times it made you ask yourself if you really wanted to play football. We answered everybody’s questions. We wanted to be out there. We loved getting better. The friendly competition we had was unreal. I wanted to beat Major in something, he wanted to beat Joe (Haden) in something and ultimately at the end of the day it makes our team better.
The toughness aspect was the key, but that was generated by a staff of coaches that has proven since then that they were a special group.
“We were very tough,” he said. “We went through a plethora of different things to make sure we were actually physically as well as mentally fit. We had a great surrounding cast around us and I think that’s what a lot of people take for granted. Everywhere I go I turn on the TV or Internet and see how people talk about how great that’08 team was and yeah, but we also had five head coaches on that coaching staff. You have to remember we had a coaching staff full of guys that are head coaches right now. Those guys were on our butts so much and so heavy because they wanted the best for us and wanted the best for the program. We never settled for less.”
His take on the newest turnover in the coaching staff…
There is a familiarity with Dan Mullen in terms of Ahmad Black. Although he coached the opposite side of the ball, Mullen had an influence on Black when he was at Florida. It was a really positive impact that makes Black believe that the Florida is in good hands with Mullen as the head coach.
“Mullen’s doing great things,” he said. “I love everything he’s brought back to the University of Florida. I had somebody talk to me today that has nothing to do with football tell me that they love him because he’s always happy all the time. I kind of caught that. I was around him for a few years and have seen him when he’s upset before. There (are) not too many times he’s upset. He always has great vibes, I love Coach Mullen. Everything about Coach Mullen makes me smile. I know he’s capable of getting the job done.”
And as far as making them tough, everything that Black has seen and heard leads him to believe they are on the right track in that direction.
“These guys are busting their butts hard,” he said of the current team. “Even when they’re not made to be out there or not mandatory, those guys are out there and making it happen. I love the way they’re attacking their craft and it should be a great year for the Gators.”
https://247sports.com/college/flori...d-Black-with-a-huge-milestone-at-UF-118221328
There aren’t many people that smile more than Ahmad Black does. The gator Great safety that roamed the Florida secondary from 2007-2010, has a perpetual toothy smile on his face and you know he just loves life. These days, that smile is bigger than ever as Black is just a semester and a class from getting his degree at Florida, a place where he had made the best friends and had the fondest memories of his life.
“It’s like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Black said late last week when asked what it feels like being this close to having it done.
It took longer for me to get a Bachelor’s Degree, so I know what he feels like. But, Black had good reason, having gone to the NFL right after his last season on campus. Despite winning a national title and playing in the NFL, this opportunity that will present itself at the end of the summer is something that he holds at the top of his achievements, and so does his father Bruce Black.
“I graduate in August with a degree in Family, Youth, and Community Science,” he said “It’s going to be amazing just to say that I got a Bachelor’s from the school where I did so many great things at. I can actually put the alumni thing on my tag and actually feel like an alumnus instead of having an incompletion on that part of my life.
“I mostly did this for my dad. He always told me he was proud of me that I went to the NFL and did great things, but always said he would be more proud of me if I got my degree and finished. I wanted to do that while he was still around and kicking.
Black spent some time a year ago with the football team while he was taking classes as a consultant to the players having been a guy that has been there before. He likely got enough of that a year ago to know that he doesn’t want to make coaching something he wants to do in the future.
“I’m probably not going into coaching,” he said. “I train kids twice a week so I kind of enjoy that. I don’t mind doing that aspect of it; you know dealing with kids, but as far as high school or college, no.
Black has a plan for when he gets his degree and wants to tie it in with the sport he loves and show the importance to kids with staying in school and eventually getting a degree.
“Two to three time a week I help with kids,” Black said. “I am able to assist in those things as well as get a little bit of training and experience up under me. Also my girlfriend has a Bachelor’s from Florida. Her and my daughter are moving up here and we’re going to try and improvise a plan where I train the kids and she tutors them as well.
“A lot of kid’s parents worry about their grades. These kids take for granted that you really need these grades. They don’t know the severity of it when they’re growing up. We are instilling in their head that grades are important. We’re trying to get that going… training the kids, but more importantly make sure their minds are trained and tutored.”
(Photo: Ahmad Black)
Flashback to his playing years in Gainesville…
Now that he’s back he can find a lot of his old teammates and talk, but he’s always done that. Quite the social person, Black stays in touch with a lot of familiar names and remarks that they are like family to him.
He was asked what made things so special back then?
“Just the camaraderie we had in the locker room,” he said. “It’s a band of brothers. When we get together we talk about it all the time. I think people take for granted just how close we really were. I love those guys like they’re my own blood. To this day we’re all still very close, it’s never a drop off when I see those guys. It’s always the same attitude and same fun and same smiles that we had 10 years ago.
“Me and the Pouncey’s we’re cool. Probably the closest is (Chris) Rainey, Major (Wright), Moses Jenkins, kind of like the secondary bunch, we kind of stay tight with each other. Sprinkle in a few other guys. I still stay in contact with Maurice Hurt and Brandon Hicks. We were all together as a team.”
What has been missing in Gainesville?
If you follow Black on social media, you will know how much he cares about his Gators. When things are going well, he will tweet it out. When they aren’t and he sees an issue, he lets people know about it.
Since it’s been 10 years from the last championship, the positive tweets haven’t come in bunches. We all know about the coaching changes and how the other staffs didn’t work, and Black was asked to pinpoint a big reason why.
“I don’t want to really criticize from the outside, but we have to get back to the toughness we had, both physically and mentally,” he said. “That should be our first number one. Get back and get tough like we were before.”
The workouts and hard practices under Urban Meyer when Black was on campus were stuff of legends. Black says when he was telling some of the players that followed about what he was doing, they couldn’t believe what he was saying.
“I’ve spoken to the guys and when we halfway mention our workouts or what we used to do they are like, ‘What? Are you kidding me’,” he said. “It was rough. At times it made you ask yourself if you really wanted to play football. We answered everybody’s questions. We wanted to be out there. We loved getting better. The friendly competition we had was unreal. I wanted to beat Major in something, he wanted to beat Joe (Haden) in something and ultimately at the end of the day it makes our team better.
The toughness aspect was the key, but that was generated by a staff of coaches that has proven since then that they were a special group.
“We were very tough,” he said. “We went through a plethora of different things to make sure we were actually physically as well as mentally fit. We had a great surrounding cast around us and I think that’s what a lot of people take for granted. Everywhere I go I turn on the TV or Internet and see how people talk about how great that’08 team was and yeah, but we also had five head coaches on that coaching staff. You have to remember we had a coaching staff full of guys that are head coaches right now. Those guys were on our butts so much and so heavy because they wanted the best for us and wanted the best for the program. We never settled for less.”
His take on the newest turnover in the coaching staff…
There is a familiarity with Dan Mullen in terms of Ahmad Black. Although he coached the opposite side of the ball, Mullen had an influence on Black when he was at Florida. It was a really positive impact that makes Black believe that the Florida is in good hands with Mullen as the head coach.
“Mullen’s doing great things,” he said. “I love everything he’s brought back to the University of Florida. I had somebody talk to me today that has nothing to do with football tell me that they love him because he’s always happy all the time. I kind of caught that. I was around him for a few years and have seen him when he’s upset before. There (are) not too many times he’s upset. He always has great vibes, I love Coach Mullen. Everything about Coach Mullen makes me smile. I know he’s capable of getting the job done.”
And as far as making them tough, everything that Black has seen and heard leads him to believe they are on the right track in that direction.
“These guys are busting their butts hard,” he said of the current team. “Even when they’re not made to be out there or not mandatory, those guys are out there and making it happen. I love the way they’re attacking their craft and it should be a great year for the Gators.”
- Aug 11, 2015
- 8,315
- 15,955
10 Years from a Championship: Ahmad Black with a huge milestone
https://247sports.com/college/flori...d-Black-with-a-huge-milestone-at-UF-118221328
(Photo: Ahmad Black)
Flashback to his playing years in Gainesville…
Great read, BMF. You bring us so much - appreciate you.
- Jun 19, 2014
- 12,776
- 31,894
Founding Member
Love this kid.
We used to think that the bigger, more physical Major Wright should play Strong Safety and the smaller Ahmad Black should play Free Safety.
We didn't think the little guy could play SS against big, tough SEC backs and TEs.
We were wrong.
Ahmad Black was never out of position and he was always a perfect form tackler. I don't remember him missing any. Never took a bad angle. Always wrapped up. Always got low and used his legs.
I've been saying for years that I think he would make a great coach. Hire him. Let him teach these young DBs how to tackle (and about hard work and determination).
Alex.
We used to think that the bigger, more physical Major Wright should play Strong Safety and the smaller Ahmad Black should play Free Safety.
We didn't think the little guy could play SS against big, tough SEC backs and TEs.
We were wrong.
Ahmad Black was never out of position and he was always a perfect form tackler. I don't remember him missing any. Never took a bad angle. Always wrapped up. Always got low and used his legs.
I've been saying for years that I think he would make a great coach. Hire him. Let him teach these young DBs how to tackle (and about hard work and determination).
Alex.
- Sep 13, 2016
- 888
- 3,392
Completely agree. I’d love to see more guys like Ahmad on our sidelines teaching these kids how to do it right.
- Sep 8, 2014
- 25,445
- 59,410
I just cut and paste a few articles. I thought this one was worth posting....
I enjoyed his inputs on 'toughness'. That's one thing Meyer taught, and you can still see it in his OSU teams (especially on D). Hopefully that returns. I really like the young S&C coach.
- Jun 12, 2014
- 7,131
- 6,204
Founding Member
"Ahmad Black- Signed as a cornerback (where he played for one year), Black was deemed too small (5'9", 190 pounds) and too slow (4.6 40-yard dash speed) to play that position in the Southeastern Conference. So, he was moved to safety, where he thrived.
For his career, Black appeared in 48 games, starting 39. He recorded 244 tackles (142 solo), breaking up 15 passes and intercepting 13 (three of which he returned for touchdowns).
Black's best year came in 2010, when, as a senior, he led UF with 108 tackles (32 more than any other teammate) and was named second-team All-American by the Associated Press and first-team by rivals.com. In his final contest before being selected in the fifth round by the Tampa Bay Bucs (who play just 40 minutes from his hometown of Lakeland), Black was named the MVP of Florida's Outback Bowl victory against Penn State."
For his career, Black appeared in 48 games, starting 39. He recorded 244 tackles (142 solo), breaking up 15 passes and intercepting 13 (three of which he returned for touchdowns).
Black's best year came in 2010, when, as a senior, he led UF with 108 tackles (32 more than any other teammate) and was named second-team All-American by the Associated Press and first-team by rivals.com. In his final contest before being selected in the fifth round by the Tampa Bay Bucs (who play just 40 minutes from his hometown of Lakeland), Black was named the MVP of Florida's Outback Bowl victory against Penn State."
