Earthwind Chatavian Moreland (born June 13, 1977) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL),

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL), and

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

Early life

Moreland attended Grady High School in Atlanta and was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. In football, he garnered All-City honors.

College career

Moreland attended

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...

and was a letterman in

. He joined the team as a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album) or the title song, 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album) or the title song, 1992 *''Walk On'', by Kellie Coffey, 200 ...

and initially played the

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

position before he was converted to a defensive back. Moreland was named an All-

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

selection as a junior and senior, and also garnered third-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors from the ''

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'' during his senior year. Over the course of his college career, he played in 52 games with 42 starts as Georgia Southern won three consecutive Southern Conference titles and finished with the

NCAA Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate A ...

championship.

Professional career

Moreland was initially signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in 2000. He was waived and claimed off waivers by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the same off-season, and a year later was traded, along with a sixth-round pick in 2002, to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

for

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Chad Morton in August 2001. Moreland was waived by the Saints just over a week later and claimed off waivers by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

the following day. He spent about one month with the team before an ultimate release from their

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

, landing with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in the same capacity, and was mostly inactive. Allocated by the

to the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

in 2002, where Moreland earned All-League honors as the Fire went on to lose in

World Bowl X World Bowl X was the 2002 championship game of the NFL Europe League. The game was played at Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany on Saturday, June 22, 2002. It would be the final event held at Rheinstadion before its demolition. In this game, t ...

. Moreland remained with the team when he returned, then landed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with a groin injury. After being signed and released within a month from August to September 2004 by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, he had a brief stint on the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

practice squad and was again signed by the Patriots. He was promoted from the

and found some playing time with the Patriots in 2004 due to injuries to the Patriots' secondary (including starters

Ty Law Tajuan Edward "Ty" Law (born February 10, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football f ...

and

Tyrone Poole Tyrone Poole (born February 3, 1972) is an American former professional football player who played 13 seasons as a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Fort Valley State Wildcats. He was selected ...

), making two starts in nine games. By the end of the season and during the playoffs, Moreland was the 4th

on the depth chart, behind

Asante Samuel Asante Tyrell Samuel Sr. (born January 6, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Accra, Ghana and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He played colle ...

Randall Gay Randall Jerome Gay Jr. (born May 5, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers. He was signed by the New England Patriots as ...

, and

Troy Brown Troy Fitzgerald Brown (born July 2, 1971) is an American professional football coach and former player who serves as an offensive assistant for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played as a wide receiver and return s ...

. Moreland was released after the season. He spent about 3 weeks over August 2006 attempting to make the cut with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, but did not make the team. He recorded 17 career tackles (15 solo) in the NFL. In 2008, Moreland joined the upstart

All-American Football League The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

after being drafted by Team Alabama. However, neither the team nor the league as a whole ever played even a single game.

Personal life

Moreland was named after his mother's favorite band,

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

. He has spent time as the head football coach at Mundy's Mill High School in Jonesboro, Georgia.

References

External links

*
AFL statsNFL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreland, Earthwind 1977 births Living people Players of American football from Atlanta American football cornerbacks Georgia Southern Eagles football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New York Jets players New Orleans Saints players Jacksonville Jaguars players Cleveland Browns players Rhein Fire players New England Patriots players Minnesota Vikings players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Georgia Force players Las Vegas Gladiators players