Paris Ford
- Thread starter Pitt5593
- Start date
Once he learned to stay within the defensive plan he was on the field. He will be playing on Sundays!
I know everyone hates HCPN right now and me too (after BC), but he deserves credit for how he handled both Hamlin and Ford because both worked out well and it wasn't an easy road.
Ya mean wasting 2 years of eligibility for a talented and athletic player ?
And I'm sure both of them will be super appreciative of the tough love showed by their coach at Pitt while they are counting their NFL millions, while you continue to be frumpy while you count your pills and belly rolls.
I see it differently, because the few times he did get in last year it was not good. It also included giving up a critical TD against UNC. Ford is one of my favorite players on the team, but sometimes guys have to adjust to playing college ball vs other good players .....not just winning games 1 on 11 with the toss sweep.
Just because you are talented and athletic does not make you disciplined and effective. Some kids take longer to figure it out.
Well - ford got suspended twice for targeting .
Hamlin once
give me a play maker .
we played Dennis Briggs over ford for 2 years for crying out loud while our defense was awful
Athletic yes. Talented no. Ford is the quintessential million dollar body and fifty cent head.
Lol!
The fifty cent head could be his undoing at nfl speed.
Imo another year at the collegiate level would be to his benefit but that isn't likely to happen.
wasted one year, i don't think he was eligible as a true freshmen (I could be wrong). some debate on what transpired last year with him at CB and if he'd have been better off just starting from day one of his redshirt year at safety.
Personally, i loved the move to CB but i was wrong, there is a first time for everything i guess..
I think they made a mistake switching Ford to CB last year when HCPN said Ford would ultimately be a safety in the long run anyhow ...... they said they switched him to CB because he wasn't learning his assignments at safety and switching him to CB would help him learn the safety position and maybe get him on the field sooner despite us having a lot of depth at CB already (so not a lot of playing time available at CB) ...... does that make a lot of sense to anyone ? ..... the CB and Safety positions in the Pitt defense are different with different assignments and why if a kid was having trouble learning assignments at the position you think he will ultimately end up would you switch him to another position with different assignments which is likely to confuse him more and stunt his growth at safety, the position the coaches admitted he would end up, and also make him less effective at CB as he was behind all the other players who were at CB all year ...... that switch just never made sense and I believe delayed his growth at safety and delayed Ford getting on the field more last year ..... IMO the switch was a mistake.
The argument that when he got on the field last season he didn't look that good is true, but remember he played CB not safety when he played last year ..... IMO they should have left him at safety, coached him up and gradually got him on the field at safety more and more as the season progressed ..... Dennis Briggs is a nice kid, did very well academically and knew his assignments at safety in the defense but he just did not have P5 ability to make the plays ..... I think Ford could have gotten more playing time as the season progressed last season over Briggs if he would have stayed at safety .... look they switched Ford back to safety in spring ball and all of a sudden he was 1 of our 2 best players ..... I think it may have happened sooner if they had kept him at safety last year ..... just my opinion.
He was the top recruit in his class, and a local kid. Do you think they might have felt pressure to get him on the field because of that situation, and moved him as a result?
Yes, I even said that it my post ...... but I also believe it was a mistake to do that for the reasons I also stated ...... I actually think that he may have been on the field more last season if they kept him at safety ..... the CB position last year was already filled with talent and depth much more so then the safety position and Ford didn't know the CB position and wasn't suited for it and was way behind the other CB's in understanding that position ....... the experiment of moving him to CB was IMO a mistake that delayed his development as a safety, the position HCPN said all along was his ultimate position.
Bama's Tuo is thinking about whether to stay or go so if he's considering staying Ford should be thinking about staying.
Just heard this on ESPN 2.
Just heard this on ESPN 2.
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Whet are you talking about?
He did play and was out of position and got burned. He was a huge liability how could you not remember that. The same trolling people were on here saying Narduzzi was a moron for choosing to take Ford over others.
That's true.
The good ones have to make this decision and I was thinking Tua has a longer accomplishments list than Ford but he was injured.
I think you are correct Tua leaves since the money will be really good.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Why does Nick Saban have so many 4-stars on the bench? Why did James Franklin just lose the highest rated WR on his roster? I mean, maybe it's a really stupid question?
Tua will still be a 1st round pick because of the value placed on high-pedigree QBs. He'll get taken in the late 20s by the Dolphins (via Texans), Saints, or Patriots who can afford to sit him until he's healthy. He's also been hurt twice now. He should absolutely go pro now.
Ford is maybe a 2nd round pick right now and more likely a 3rd day pick. And that's if he tests well. If he doesn't test well, he's a late round pick. He's also undersized and his game might be more suited to inside the box than as a deep ball-hawk type. Another year of All-ACC type play and 10 more pounds on him and he's a lock for the 3rd round or better.
The difference between what Tua and Paris Ford could make in guaranteed money is something like $10-$12M depending on where Ford is drafted. Also, you can only go pro once and you only get so many chances to make an impact. If you have the potential to get locked into a 3+ year deal with one franchise where they can't cut you as a high draft pick, you do that rather than hope to stick on an NFL team as a late round pick where there's little incentive to keep you if you're not working and it's a numbers game to make the 53.
That's not unique to Pitt or Narduzzi. Keep in mind our second best TE in school history was a 2 year player because Wanny couldn't figure out how to get him on the field.
True, maybe he made a promise to the Hamlin family that he wouldn't redshirt? Or maybe it was the defense was so god-awful that Narduzzi was desperate for any help he could get that year. But definitely not unique to Pitt; I remember Morelli whining about having to redshirt if he came here and PSU promising no redshirting and he only played a few snaps as a 3rd teamer that year.
From what I’ve seen nobody (focusing on the draft evaluators who include underclassmen) has Ford listed as a top 30 2020 draft prospect at safety. I’ve seen Hamlin as high as 20 and as low as mid-30s.
That could change as the NFL teams start their private evaluations of players, but there are a lot of good safety prospects in this class. Delpit at LSU is the consensus top dog and both OSU safeties project as top 5 safety prospects. Ford could definitely improve his position dramatically with another productive year at Pitt.
Yeah there's just no way you spend a 1st round pick on a safety that's under 200lbs. Do you see Paris Ford stopping Derrick Henry or Dalvin Cook right now? And there are a ton of safeties in that 2-4 round range that means a few of them will fall. Alabama, Michigan, Cal, and Miss State all have 2 such pro prospects.
I usually recommend kids go as soon as they're ready because their potentially to get significantly better in 1 year is limited (plus the downside risk of injury). But you don't want to be a 1 year starter without ideal pro size in a crowded draft field at the position.
That was what annoyed me so much about Vuk's article (he also drives me crazy in other ways). He seemed to act like Narduzzi is the only one at Pitt to fail to get talent out of 4-star recruits or lose them entirely. Every coach we've had since I've been following the team has had high-pedigree players: 1) be slow to get on the field: 2) transfer out; or 3) get kicked off the team.
Chryst
Russell Shell did nothing then transferred to WVU
Chad Voytik - 1.5 year starter lost job transfer to Ark State
Deaysean Rippy - never did anything transfer to Colorado
GrahamChad Voytik - 1.5 year starter lost job transfer to Ark State
Deaysean Rippy - never did anything transfer to Colorado
Bryan Murphy - never did anything, left team
Wanny Doran Dickerson couldn't get on the field as a WR or LB, ultimately 2 year starter at TE
Shayne Hale never did anything
Nate Byham - 3 year player, mostly as a blocker
Pat Bostick - gave us 13-9 but overall pretty disappointing
Chris Burns never did anything then transferred to UMass
Elijah Fields - limited production then left team
Kevin Collier - never did anything, left team
And on and on. It's ridiculous to act like Narduzzi is failing to develop our 4 star talent. What have Ruben Flowers, Charles Reeves, and Kaezon Pugh done after leaving Pitt?Shayne Hale never did anything
Nate Byham - 3 year player, mostly as a blocker
Pat Bostick - gave us 13-9 but overall pretty disappointing
Chris Burns never did anything then transferred to UMass
Elijah Fields - limited production then left team
Kevin Collier - never did anything, left team
Vuk is clickbait garbage.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Well done. I stopped paying attention to Vuk when he was crowing about all of the "silent commits" only he knew about. He had a nice concept but he's not much more than a blogger with a few sponsors.
agree. And his Sicilian messenger boy Alan Saunders is worse. Vuk used to complain like we did about some of the bias of the local media (made some interesting observations on the commitment of Jordan Whitehead) but now he is just as bad.
Don't forget Christian Cullen ( 4 star) local kid maybe Penn Hills, I forget, was interested in PITT went to Michigan everyone on the board had a stroke or mild heart attacks, he came back to PITT from Michigan everyone recovered from their stroke and heart attacks and he never, never got on the field except once in a while.
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