Ford lauds support from team following brother’s death
Devyn Ford said he was glad to return to the Penn State football team last week after the death of his older brother in Virginia.
Ford missed the Nittany Lions’ game Nov. 28 at Michigan so that he could return to his home in Stafford, Va., after Shaza Davis, 25, died one day earlier.
“They’re just like family,” Ford said of his coaches and teammates. “They were around me, consoling me and giving me their love. I definitely needed that. It’s been rough.”
A sophomore running back, Ford carried 11 times for 65 yards and one touchdown and caught one pass for 7 yards in Penn State’s 23-7 win over Rutgers Saturday at Piscataway, N.J.
“It felt great to come out here and play the game of football again with my teammates,” he said.
Ford took over as the No. 1 running back after Journey Brown
was diagnosed with a heart condition and forced to retire and Noah Cain suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter of the opener.
He did manage to watch freshman Keyvone Lee run for 134 yards and one score in the Lions’ 27-17 win at Michigan last week.
“Man, I was happy,” Ford said. “Someone asked me how the young bulls were going to do. I said if these guys prepare like starters they can play like starters. You saw what happened last week with Keyvone. He’s young and still growing. You’re going to see a lot more of that, too.”
Ford is third on the team in rushing with 67 carries for 293 yards and three touchdowns, trailing Lee and quarterback Sean Clifford.
He’s grateful he’s back at Penn State and among guys who could help him work through his grief.
“Everyone faces adversity,” Ford said. “Everyone goes through adversity. You gotta keep pushing, that’s all. It was definitely helpful for them to put their arms around me and be the brothers that they are and be the coaches and the men that they are, to actually care for somebody else. That was good.” TWOQUARTERBACKS» Penn State alternated quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Will Levis throughout the game.
Clifford, who started, completed 15-of-22 passes for 133 yards and one touchdown and one interception, and ran eight times for 21 yards.
He connected with Parker Washington for a 29-yard score in the first quarter, but he missed Washington twice inside the 10 later in the game. He also threw a high pass off the hands of Berks Catholic product Isaac Lutz that was intercepted in the third quarter.
“When Sean missed today, he missed high, which puts you in jeopardy of tipped passes and things like that,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “He looked very comfortable early on. He looked very confident managing the game.
“But we gotta get all those inbreaking balls (passes) down on the body so that we have a (better) chance to possess the ball and to complete the ball and not put the ball at risk.”
Levis carried 17 times for 65 yards, but he did not attempt a pass on a very windy afternoon. He ran it three straight times on one series in the third quarter and did not pick up a first down.
“We’ve got to mix some passes in there with Will in the game to make sure they respect it, there’s no doubt about it,” Franklin said. “But at the same time, the weather was significant today and affected both offenses.” NITTANY LINES » Penn State wide receiver Isaac Lutz (Berks Catholic) caught two passes for 19 yards, including a 13-yarder that set up a touchdown. ... Senior cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields missed his fifth straight game with an undisclosed injury. ... The Lions are eighth in major college football wins with 900, trailing all-time leader Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Nebraska.