There's a Ford in AU's future

[Brad]

There's a Ford in AU's future

Friday, July 20, 2007

Finally. At last. Better late than never. Mike Ford is coming.

To play running back.

In Alabama.

There's a catch, of course, as even casual Crimson Tide fans know by now.

Ford will be playing in Alabama but not for Alabama. Unless you consider that everyone who plays against Auburn is playing, in a way, for Alabama.

If you want to see the most highly touted running back in the 2005 and 2006 Alabama signing classes, the Sarasota kid who set the Florida record with 2,836 rushing yards as a high school senior in 2004, you need to watch South Florida play Sept. 8 at Auburn.

Ford enrolled at South Florida in January and went through spring practice there. This, after signing twice with Alabama but failing to get admitted and making stops at Hargrave Military Academy and Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi.

Ford's late arrival may not be news. His status is.

South Florida coach Jim Leavitt told me Thursday that Ford will not be suspended for any games because of a recent arrest after two citations for driving without a license and another for driving with a suspended license.

Ford missed a court date on those citations, which led to an arrest warrant, but turned himself in earlier this month. Later that day, Ford's 46-year-old father died unexpectedly.

Leavitt called Ford "a really good kid."

So Ford should be in uniform when South Florida visits Auburn. The coach is less sure where the freshman will stand on the depth chart by then.

"We don't even have a starter at running back," Leavitt said. "That's probably the most wide-open position on our team."

More help could be on the way. Jamar Taylor, who impressed Alabama coaches in the spring, left school there because of a family matter. He's trying to enroll at South Florida and get a waiver to play right away.

Under NCAA rules, Leavitt can't talk about Taylor. All he did say was, "We may have a real good player coming in."

The coach had just returned from Big East Media Day, where Alabama football was a hot topic.

Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm talked about his big brother, Jeff, a Louisville assistant, turning down an offer to join Nick Saban's Alabama staff.

West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez talked about turning down an offer to become the Alabama head coach before Saban took the job.

Leavitt himself talked about turning down Alabama before Mike Price got the job. At Big East Media Day, Leavitt said he still has an unsigned contract from Alabama in his office.

On that subject Thursday, he said, "I am not even going to go there. What else do you want to talk about?"

How about Auburn?

"We're trying to focus on Elon," he said, which is South Florida's opener. "I don't know if anybody's gonna let us."

There will be a distinct Ford focus by the time the Bulls pull up at Jordan-Hare. Will the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder be worth the wait?

"The last week of spring practice, he really showed some signs," Leavitt said. "Early in the spring, his buildup was a lot more than what he was showing. We'll give him a shot to be that good."

Alabama fans, for a different reason, can only hope.

Kevin Scarbinsky's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Write him at kscarbinsky@bhamnews.com.

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[E.T.]

And I think all of us can agree that we don't have a starter at RB ... still putting my money on Samuels.

And am very confident that Taylor will be running the ball against Elon and 'Auburn ... and the Big East !

[ProudBull]

He says that people won't let him concentrate on Elon.  I wonder if he is having problems keeping our guys focused?

[usfgrad84]

He says that people won't let him concentrate on Elon.  I wonder if he is having problems keeping our guys focused?

This is all typical Leavitt stuff.  They'll be focused on Elon, but probably not until the  week before the game when they start game planning specifically for the game.

My guess is that he probably won't have much to say about Ford in the press regardles of how well he looks in practice.  He's going to downplay Ford's progress in public to downplay expectations and also as a way to motivate Ford to reach his potential. 

Until Ford and the rest of the offense hits the field against Elon, we probably won't have any idea how well he is coming along.  I wouldn't be surprised if, in typical Leavitt fashion, we'll  see camp closed to the media after the first week of practice.  That's when they'll begin to really focus on the season.

[Rizman]

So, you think we will get Taylor in school in time and get the NCAA to issue a hardship waiver.  Well see.  But we are not sneaking up on Auburn when you see articles like this being written.

[USFPDiddy]

9 win BCS teams don't sneak up on anybody.  They saw what happened last season in Morgantown and they'll be ready to play us.  When we win, there will be no excuses like "our team wasn't up for the game".  Personally I'm tired of witnessing SEC road opening losses for USF, and I'm guessing our team is too.

[CoolBull1]

Remembering the first three quarters of the McNeese game....we really need to be focused on Elon.  CJL is right!

[BullyPulpit]

The RB position being up for grabs is a blessing in diguise, IMO. Auburn will have a very hard time game planning for up to 5 potential starters at RB (Ford, Samuels, Williams, Dorsey, and possibly Taylor). I hope we get out on Elon early and we can keep the playbook "Spring Game Vanilla." If that can happen, Auburn won't have a clue whats comming with a new OC and the plethora of options we have at the WR and RB positions. Also, Auburn will have to show what they got in their opener with KSU. We will get to see what that OL looks like, and hopefully have enough tape to pick it apart.

I am so psyched for this game.....this could be the catalyst for a magical season!

[Held_AccountaBull]

The RB position being up for grabs is a blessing in diguise, IMO. Auburn will have a very hard time game planning for up to 5 potential starters at RB (Ford, Samuels, Williams, Dorsey, and possibly Taylor). I hope we get out on Elon early and we can keep the playbook "Spring Game Vanilla." If that can happen, Auburn won't have a clue whats comming with a new OC and the plethora of options we have at the WR and RB positions. Also, Auburn will have to show what they got in their opener with KSU. We will get to see what that OL looks like, and hopefully have enough tape to pick it apart.

I am so psyched for this game.....this could be the catalyst for a magical season!

dude, dorsey?

[BullsDude08]

I'm going to hope it was a huge mistake, and he meant to say Plancher. RIP Dorsey