UF backfield gets Moore power

During his two seasons in the backfield, Billy Latsko defined the fullback position at Florida with his toughness and relentless, hard-nosed blocking.

Now, Kestahn Moore is about to redefine the position.

Moore is bringing tailback speed and skills to a position that was one-dimensional (blocking) with Latsko.

It's a new twist to the spread offense.

"It's a threat," UF coach Urban Meyer said. "Billy Latsko was a great football player. In a little bit of hindsight, we probably could have flipped the ball to him a little bit more. He just wasn't a dynamic player. I think Kestahn will be. That's going to give us some flexibility there. I'm really anxious and excited about that."

Whereas Latsko was basically a linebacker playing fullback in 2005-06, Moore is an offensive skill player who brings a dual threat (running and receiving) to a position that could have been called designated blocker in Meyer's first three seasons (Latsko, followed by Eric Rutledge).

"I can block, I can run, I can catch the ball," Moore said. "I can throw the defense off. I think I can make some big plays at fullback. It's hard (for a team to defend) when you have a dual threat at that position."

Moore is not going to be a full-time fullback. The senior is still a tailback — probably the No. 1 tailback — but in certain situations he's going to line up at fullback alongside one of the other tailbacks (Chris Rainey, Emmanuel Moody, Brandon James or Mon Williams).

When Latkso and Rutledge were on the field, defenses always knew what they were going to do. They were going to block. With Moore, there are other options to defend.

Moore has the Latsko work ethic and toughness (and has shown the coaches he can block). He also can run and catch.

"He'll be at fullback depending on the game plan and depending on what we're doing against certain people," running backs coach Kenny Carter said. "I'd say he'll (play fullback) enough to make a difference.

"He can do all the things. He can block, he can run, he can catch, he can do it all."

The coaches decided this summer to play Moore some at fullback because of the options he brings. Moore said it has been an easy transition.

"As a running back, I did some fullback type things (in the past)," Moore said. "It's not too much of a difference. I learned the position before. We just didn't stick with it. It's pretty easy. There's nothing too dramatic about it."

But the move could give the offense a dramatically different look — and put another potential playmaker on the field.

"Kestahn is a receiving threat out of (the fullback position)," quarterback Tim Tebow said. "He's a great receiver. Being able to run a fullback into the flat, run the fullback as a jump route, motioning him out to go from what looks like three receivers and two running backs to five receivers. ... it can be a best asset for us."

Moore said he's looking forward to any role he can play in the offense, whether it's playing tailback or fullback, blocking or running and catching.

Given UF's crowded tailback position, the move to fullback should give Moore a chance to be on the field more.

"It allows us to get more running backs into the game," he said. "I'm always excited to help the team out in any way that I can. I'm just excited about being on the field."