Ford officially joins Pitt at camp, but is his impact on hold?
summer, obviously, and it’s nice that everyone we signed got here. Some guys get here slower, but expectations-wise, Paris, he’s — really, you can say 17 days late.
“So my expectations are — and I told him the same thing — we’re not saying, ‘Hey let’s go, Paris, you’re the savior.’ That ain’t gonna happen. My opinion is he’s gonna redshirt, and if something else happens besides that, it’s a miracle, pretty much. It’s just too hard to come in as a kid like that, and come do it. We’re just happy he’s here, he’s in school, and that’s the main thing.”
OK, so then the football thing will be just a bonus. But there’s no denying Ford has the talent to provide a shot in the arm for a defense and secondary coming off a miserable season.
Defensive coordinator Josh Conklin said on signing day in February, “I think when he steps in the room, he’ll immediately bring the level up.” And on the second day of camp earlier this month, Conklin allowed that Ford undoubtedly would be behind when he arrived, but that the coaches would work to get him caught up as fast as possible. He even mentioned specifics of how Ford could be used, as a weapon in their third-down “Delta” package.
After practice Monday, secondary coach Renaldo Hill set aside defensive jargon, and his expectation level adhered more to Narduzzi’s from a couple of hours earlier.
“He’s a part of the team; that’s the way we’ll treat it,” Hill said. “We’ll coach him up and try to get him better each day.”
Hill added that it remains to be seen which safety spot Ford will play, field (free) or boundary (strong).
“Right now, we’re just trying to get him adjusted to what we do defensively, so we haven’t really talked about field or boundary,” Hill said. “We’re really just trying to get him out here and let him run around to see where his skill set fits.”
When Conklin assesses a player, he often uses the phrase “you feel him out there.” Well, early returns are in, and it seems that Ford’s new teammates can feel him already after just a couple of days of practice — thanks to his athleticism and his attitude.
“I think he’s done a good job. He’s a real social guy, so he’s fitting in with the group well, and you can tell he’s here to learn; he’s got his notebook out in every meeting,” redshirt junior safety Dennis Briggs said. “All we can do is just take it one day at a time and he’ll be all right.”
Briggs said he personally doesn’t pay attention to the accolades of Pitt recruits, but that he and his positionmates are all aware that Ford comes in highly regarded. Senior cornerback Avonte Maddox agreed that Ford brought energy “as soon as he stepped in the locker room” and that it feels like he has been here all along.
Maddox played and started as a freshman three years ago, and he believes Ford will have enough time to become a factor in the secondary as long as he puts his mind to it.
“And I’ll teach him,” Maddox said. “He’s a quick learner, we’ll teach him, and he’ll be able to get caught up.”