In terms of trades, it’s about as win-win as it gets.

During preseason camp, South Carolina State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough decided to make a personnel change. A year after moving productive wide receiver Terrance Smith to defensive back, Pough opted to return him to his natural position.

As part of the switch, S.C. State decided to send little-used wide receiver Semaj Moody over to the secondary in place of Smith. It was a position very new to the Bulldog junior, who was an All-Region quarterback at Denmark-Olar High School.

It did not take long for the trade to pay dividends as Moody’s interception of Grambling quarterback Greg Dillon at the S.C. State 10 with 1:22 left preserved a 34-31 by the Bulldogs in the season-opening MEAC/SWAC Challenge. Through eight games, Moody is tied for the team lead with two interceptions to go with 10 tackles and five pass deflections.

Meanwhile, Smith is S.C. State’s second-leading receiver behind Oliver “Tre” Young with 24 catches for 341 yards and two touchdowns. As the Bulldogs close in on repeating as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions, both players have seemingly found their niche.

“It’s working out for the both of us,” Moody said. “He’s doing a great job on offense. I’m just trying to defend as much as possible on defense. I feel it was a pretty good trade.”

Moody’s production on defense has been comparable to what Smith (26 tackles, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries, one touchdown) accomplished last season. Defensive coordinator Mike Adams used the word “unbelievable” to describe the quick transition Moody has made.

“I call him the most improved player on the entire team,” he said. “We just brought him over there hoping that he could provide some depth. Next thing we know, he wins the battle in camp and then plays well early in the first game. He is definitely a definite starter on our defense and has held up all year long. He’s had a great season, we feel like, and he’s going to be a great player next year when he returns.

“We hated losing Terrance, but we felt like we had at least a good group of guys to kind of battle for that spot and, fortunately, he’s been the guy to break through.”

Moody understood right away the extended work, both physically and mentally, necessary to be productive at his new position. Additional hours in the weight room and studying film have helped Moody hold his own playing alongside more experienced players.

“There’s some great seniors in the secondary and defensive line and all over the defense period,” Moody said. “I feel like I have to prove myself coming over from offense and every week I’ve got to get better and coming out to play.”

Getting the game-clinching pick against Grambling only increased Moody’s belief in his ability to play defensive back.

“Going into the game, I knew I could play,” he said. “But, it had to be a big game for me. So, coming up with the game-winning pick gave me a big confidence boost.”

Playing offense for almost all his football career has given Moody a better insight as to how to defend wide receivers. He can instinctively tell what route a receiver will run just by seeing how they line up.

“For us, it’s all about mentality,” Adams said. “Whether it’s back to offense or back to defense, whatever it is, we usually do it based on their ability and mentality and we chose Terrance last year and Moody this year just because of their physical toughness and their ability to get competitive.”

This Saturday at Howard, Moody anticipates lining up against fellow D-O graduate and reigning MEAC Rookie of the Year wide receiver Willie Carter. The Bison sophomore is the team leader in receptions and the team’s primary offensive weapon. Family bragging rights are also on the line for Moody as cousin DeAngelo Moody is a backup redshirt inside linebacker for Howard.

“I’m looking forward to the matchup,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll come out on the good side of the game, catching an interception and do what I have to do to stop (Howard).”

Injury Update

After a week of inactivity recovering from a concussion, junior linebacker David Erby appears ready to return to action this Saturday against Howard.

Redshirt junior defensive end Jayson Ayers’ status, however, remains up in the air as he continues to contend with what Adams’ calls “post-concussion” syndrome three weeks after he suffered his head injury. Adams said Ayers will make the trip and his status will be a “game-time decision.”

“If he feels good close to gameday and the medical staff feels like he’s going to be okay, then we’ll play him a little bit,” Adams said. “We’ll kind of do that each week. It’s kind of tough right now”

T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Read his blog, Following the Bulldogs, and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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