http://www.hudl.com/athlete/4273428/highlights
Best player in the WPIAL, and possibly the best in the state.
Best player in the WPIAL, and possibly the best in the state.
Paris Ford
- Thread starter Piranha
- Start date
Paris Ford will be a great Panther on his way to the NFL. His highlights are impressive and he can do so many things on the field to help his team. O, D, ST
I see Ford being an impact in the secondary similar to the way FSU uses Derwin James. Ford is able to cover so much field in so little time, an incredibly impressive player!
Wow!!!! How do you not play this kid on offense? He reminds me of Gordon Jones with his long arms. He just glides...amazing athlete!
Another Dorsett, Whitehead & Revis as far as I am concern! Lamont Wade another Dorsett can play both RB & DB!
Ford, this video is even better. Absolutely explosive Gamebreaker
Agreed. Narduzzi scheme fits both of the guys to a tee and they know they will be able to put their skills om display.
-We need a Safety that has the ability to run up and knock someone out. Im talking a Nighttrain Lane punisher to put some fear in these wr's. We are so soft in the secondary its friggin sad. Ford plays to separate a players heads from their body, he's a nasty hitter. I watch Webb bounce off players trying to tackle and drop passes. Ford is going to run people over. Cant wait for this kid at Pitt. Its also a shame Hamlin isnt 100% healthy and we had to burn the redshirt because our secondary is terrible.
Ford is the type of player that makes this style of defense go, I doubt very much he is not in the secondary from the moment he steps on campus and if wade comes, he will be another.
man, you'd have to think so but we brought in 3 talented CB recruits who were left on the bench behind very inferior upper classmen so you never know with Duzzi.. One one side of his mouth he talks about how simple this defense is then on the other, he talks about assignments and younger guys not knowing their assignments. I think it goes without saying that duzzi values experience and assignment knowledge over skill sets and athletic ability.. Don't be so sure to give any true freshman the starting spot..
-Hamlin was injured almost the entire time including camp, as was Campbell. You have Coleman, Garner, and Miller left, and Miller was raw coming in, although has great athletic ability and potential. No point to burn any more redshirts. Just let the season ride from here.
Or, maybe, just hear me out on this, perhaps, maybe, you never know, the three talented recruits aren't any better at playing the defense that Narduzzi wants to play than the inferior upper classmen are.
Nah, it can't be that. It obviously must be that our head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach are all a bunch of idiots who wouldn't recognize talent if it hit them upside the head with a two by four.
Wait do you really think that? you think the cornerbacks we've seen this year the ones that have us at122nd in pass defense, the cbs that have produced the worst pass defense in the history of college football, you think they are better than the younger guys?
If so, I weep for the future. guess we'll find out next year who's right, maybe it can't get worse that's a scary thought
Well first of all, it could get worse. Maybe not a lot worse, but it certainly could get worse.
Secondly, what happens next year likely won't prove anything about this year. Surely you would expect the freshmen to improve from this year to next year, wouldn't you? The fact that someone is better next year doesn't mean that they also must have been better this year as well. Anyone who watches sports, especially college sports where it happens all the time, knows that.
Now, as for whether I think the young guys are better than the guys who are currently playing, the answer is that I don't know. Neither do you, or anyone else on this board, but at least I can admit it. However the people who are paid a lot of money to make these decisions and who see these guys in practice every day and who are more knowledgeable on the subject than any of us here and who at some level have their jobs on the line to make correct decisions in matters like this clearly and obviously do NOT think that the young guys are better, otherwise they would be playing them. That doesn't mean that the coaches are right, because coaches do make mistakes. But if the guys on the bench were clearly better than the guys playing then the guys on the bench would be playing and the guys who are playing would be on the bench. It's as simple as that.
One other thing. It's a very small sample size, too small to make any definitive statements about, but people have been holding out hope that Damar Hamlin was the savior at corner. Everyone pretty much agreed he was obviously better than what we were putting out there. Well he played in the second half on Thursday, pretty much the whole half. And he looked just like all the other guys out there. Again, it's too early to make any definitive statements, but if his level of play on Thursday night was in line with what we can expect from him the rest of the season then seeing as to how he is supposed to be the best of the young guys it seems pretty clear that the young guys are not better than the guys who are currently playing. Not right now. Hopefully next year they will be. But not right now.
if a freshmen isn't playing, how much better do you expect them to get in an off season? I am not sure how much worse it can get to be honest, we are what ? 122nd in pass defense, out of 128.. so ok, I guess we can get worse but at this point, to keep sending out a senior who has failed miserably, makes zero sense..
play the younger guys and get ready for next year.. the upper classmen, they've been given ample time and failed miserably.. To keep sending them out is almost punishment.. Oh and yes, if Hamlin, coleman and miller, the last two especially, are decent out of the gate, it ABSOLUTELY proves that Narduzzi played the wrong guy..
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Campbell and Hamlin both missed almost all of preseason practice with injuries. If both were healthy, I would bet the mortgage that they saw significant time this season. Shame Hamlins Redshirt was burnt but that show what Nard thought about the importance of the Tech game. Campbell and Hamlin should be the starter next season. Paris Ford will be an impact player next year. He is a stud and college ready.
Secondary will improve next season. Just a better pedigree of depth out there. It'll be young but it'll be the most talented Pitt's had back there in a long while.
Will help to more athletic LBs like Wirginis, Brightwell, Zeise out there will too. Depth like Pugh, Pine and McKee will help too.
Not a huge Idowu fan but he may inprove.
Will help to more athletic LBs like Wirginis, Brightwell, Zeise out there will too. Depth like Pugh, Pine and McKee will help too.
Not a huge Idowu fan but he may inprove.
So if MacVittie plays better next year than Peterman has this year will that be proof that he should have started this year? If Taleni comes in next year and plays better than Jarrett has this year will that be proof that he should have started this year? If Moss has a better year next year than Conner has had this year will that be proof that he should have started this year?
You really can't believe that, can you? It isn't possible that you don't get that players improve from one year to the next, and that for a lot of players the biggest improvement comes from their first year to their second year when they get the full benefits of college coaching and a college weight training program, is it?
The funny part is these fools actually think they know what they are talking about. You are correct.
"]if a freshmen isn't playing, how much better do you expect them to get in an off season?
You serious Clark?
If you think it's tough watching Pitt's D try being me haha. A lifelong Pitt fan born in Pittsburgh who moved to Phoenix during high school and graduated from ASU. I have to watch the absolute worst pass defense TWICE every week. I'm pretty sure the schemes Narduzzi and Graham run are completely different yet the end result is the same, teams setting records against them every week. I'm sure there are quite a few factors that go into it but at the end of the day i don't think either defense has good enough talent at the CB position and probably Safety as well. All year ASU has started a Juco running back at corner after converting him in the off season. Athletically and size wise he's everything you'd want in a corner, but the guy has literally never played the position until this year. ASU has also been crushed by injury in the secondary, the top 2 players have missed a ton of time. Pitt's corners seem like they are just good enough to get you beat as well. Maddox is a gamer but his size is a huge hurdle against most receivers and Lewis a 5th year guy showing why he never played much. And thats not a slam on Lewis, i LOVE seeing guys who stick it out earn playing time, it's a rarity in today's transfer environment. Whitehead is a baller but the secondary is probably only as good as it's weakest link and both Pitt and ASU have major weaknesses that can't be made up by one good player. I like what Pitt has in the pipeline though and if they can convince Wade to stay home your looking at some elite (though young) secondary talent with Hamlin, Ford, & Whitehead. We're just gonna have to stick it out this year, it's like freaking groundhog day every Saturday but I think better days are ahead.
Wilkins being hurt much of the season has crippled ASU as well, his replacements have been horrible.
That certainly has not helped, but even playing a true freshman at QB the last 2 weeks ASU has scored 35 and 32 points and the defense just refuses to make a play for the kid. It's absolutely infuriating to sit through week in and week out.
Unlike most here I have sympathy for you guys, who would've thought losing Bercovici would be such a big loss.
Bowl eligibility may come down to the final game with Rich Rod.
dude, I don't even know what we are arguing about anymore.. You are bringing up taleni being possibly better than Jarrett and moss being better than JC? Let's just put that to bed now, moss is nowhere near JC nor will he ever be so let's just put that one out on the back porch..
I am simply saying that I believe, with every ounce of my being, that we have better options at cb than what we've seen. If we don't, then we need to be very worried for the future. A very simple statement. We've witnessed the worst pass defense, specific to CB play with pitt football, dating back to well before I was born. I am going to say our de backs were much better in our glory years so most likely, we have to go back to pre-Majors 1 days, early 70's/late 60's, to find a pitt team with worse CBs than what we have this year. Think about that, we are going back to "make love not war" days in finding worse CBs for pitt.. our soldiers were fighting "Charlie" last time our CBs were this poor..
Regarding this drastic improvement from one season to the next debate. I believe that Hamlin, if he plays some snaps here thru the rest of the season, will be much more improved and his development will be expedited much greater because of his playing experience vs. sitting on the bench, redshirting.. Do players get better from their true freshman season to their redshirt year? Sure, lifting weights and doing the spring ball thing helps I am sure but nowhere near getting actual playing time.. Cant really imagine how anyone in their right mind can argue that..
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We said the same thing about Hamlin, right? But Hamlin was slowed by injury this August. I agree, the DB's have been so bad, play the younger guys. They at least have that hopeful ability that they will get better.
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