Blue Chip chat
( Eighth in a series on top high school football players in the area.)
Baldwin junior Dorien Ford packs a punch like a Mack truck.
AND FINALLY … You’re grabbing dinner at a fast- food restaurant. Where are you going and what are you ordering? Chick- fil- A and I’m getting a regular chicken sandwich and a tea. — By Brad Everett
THE SCOOP
When driving into opposing players, this Ford is more like a Mack truck, and his combination of size and quickness has earned him the label as one of the top juniors in Pennsylvania. Rivals ranks Ford the No. 8 player in the state and No. 18 strong- side defensive end in the country. He’s one of the reasons why some think Baldwin might have its best team in a number of years. The Highlanders have not finished with a winning record since 2003 and have not reached the playoffs since 2013, but they could make a lot of noise this season in the Class 5A Allegheny Eight Conference. COLLEGE TALK
Ford is attracting a lot of interest and already boasts more than a dozen scholarship offers. Pitt was the first power five conference school to offer him in April. Penn State has since offered, as have Nebraska, Iowa State, Syracuse, Maryland and Indiana. Most schools are recruiting Ford to play defensive end.
OUR QUESTIONS, HIS ANSWERS
Baldwin is getting some preseason hype. Should we buy it? Yes, sir. I feel like we’re going to win states.
So you guys are really thinking state championship? We are. I feel like we have the best skill players in the WPIAL. We have a lot of skill seniors. We have a solid line, mainly juniors. I feel like we have a really good team. Pound for pound, who’s the strongest player on the team? I would say [ quarterback] Mason Stahl and [ wide receiver] Connor Lavelle. So you’re not going to say yourself? I’m a big dude, so everyone expects me to put up weight, but I wouldn’t say I’m the top one.
Coach [ Loran] Cooley has done a good job in his three years. What have you learned most from him? I’ve learned a lot from him as a coach, but he’s
a really great man. He’s a dude that I really look up to. He’s a great coach and a great father.
Any favorite colleges at this point? No, not really.
Which colleges are you hoping to see play this season? Pitt. Penn State. I want to see the atmosphere at an [ Southeastern Conference] school. And I want to see a Michigan game. Is there a school that you’ve
always rooted for? Growing up, I’ve always been a Pitt Panther fan because it’s my hometown. My parents really like Pitt because we’re all from here. And my family didn’t have a lot of money, so it was the only games we could afford to go to. College that hasn’t offered that you hope does? Everybody wants one from Alabama. From what I’m hearing, they’re supposed to come watch me play, but I’m not really focused on things like that right now.