NFL Draft preview: Florida DB Ahmad Black

Florida's Ahmad Black does not pass the eyeball test.

He's about 3 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than the average top college safety.

But, in a lot of ways, the 5-foot-9½, 184-pound Black is exactly the kind of player the Bears are seeking. He picked off 17 passes over the past three seasons and returned them for 362 yards, a healthy 21.3 yards per return.

“On the video game, I do it all the time,” he joked. “But in practice, when we get the ball, we try to score. That's our main focus. Every time you get the ball, you try to score or put the offense in a better position to score.”

Lovie Smith couldn't have said it better, although he has certainly said it more often. Smith has been preaching the value of making something happen with a turnover since the day he became the Bears' head coach.

Black is no stranger to the Bears. They saw a lot of him during the 2009 season when they were evaluating the Gators' other safety, Major Wright, who became their third-round pick last year.

Black and Wright started 26 games together in 2008 and '09, but Black elected to stick around for his senior season to improve as a player, while Wright bolted for the NFL. Despite the added experience, Black is considered a middle-round pick, and he might be better suited to play cornerback, or nickel back, despite having average speed.

“Anywhere I can go on the field, I'm down for it,” he said. “I just want to play football. I'm a leader. I'm vocal. I talk (smack) everywhere I go. I play hard, and give you the best I got.”

Black wasn't surprised he was asked repeatedly about his size at the Scouting Combine. He's accustomed to it.

“It's frustrating, but people are always talking about size and speed,” he said. “At the end of the day, it's about making plays. At the Senior Bowl it was asked a couple of times. I tell them, ‘I get to the ball.' At the end of the day, I get what they're saying. But (it's more about) ‘can he make plays or can he not?' That's how I live.

“Teams may pass on me because of my size, but the team that picks me up will definitely have something good.”

Former Florida coach Urban Meyer wasn't initially sold on Black when the skinny player came to the program at a cornerback. But last year Meyer called Black, “One of the top safeties in college football.”

“It felt great, because Coach Meyer was the same one that told me I would never play at Florida,” Black said. “He told me that my freshman year. So, going from that to what he said (last season) was a big accomplishment.

“I love Coach Meyer to death. He has a great family, and I just love being around them. Me and Coach Meyer grew together my four years at Florida.”

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