Ford is looking huge

[usfgrad84]

Ford will be ready to go this year.  Everything should be improved, fitness, speed, ball security, understanding of pass protection, and expectations in the classroom.  I expect him to rush for 1000 yards and be the feature back. 

I think he figured out the classroom part.  He was  Big East all academic.  He had better than a 3.0. 

[usfgrad84]

I'm just saying that he didn't play more last year because of those early fumbles and I don't necessarily disagree with the coaching staff for spreading it out to the other backs.  Certainly we need a featured back to be the go-to guy.  From my view, his ball-handling technique did not show that much improvement as the year went on.  Even in the Sun Bowl he was holding that ball out too far like some sort of "hot potatoe".  I think he got lucky later in the year with some very fortunate bounces too. 

No doubt Mike Ford will be the key to improving our offense this year, if he holds on to the ball and shows the stamina to play week in and out for a full 60 minutes.  I think Ruger is right, he went from out of the game for over a year to right into the fire as a true freshman.  Not an easy thing to do.  We should expect to see a drastic improvement this year in ball handling and stamina.  Certainly the photo above shows the work he has been putting in, let's hope he keeps it up and it pays off.  However, if he comes out of the gate with a fumble or two, expect the coaches to turn to the next guy quickly.   

twilly, fumbling had absolutely no reason for him not playing.  It was in ability to learn the entire playbook, conditioning, and nagging injuries.  He arrived on campus running a 4.94 in the forty in winter conditioning about 14 months ago.  He now is running a sub 4.6 and you can see the physical transformation.  Last year he was a battering ram, this year he'll be a fantastic all-purpose back.  BTW, word is Taylor looks equally as jacked!

He did get pulled a few times for fumbling, but his overall lack of PT and touches were just as you mentioned.  I believe the coaches also handled Ford very well.  They understood that he was coming in with a huge amount of notoriety plus his dad dying.  They could have easily thrown a lot on his shoulders very early.  They let him work his way into the program the right way.  It will pay off this year.  Franks also said after the season that Ford was still needing to learn to run through the correct holes and to learn better technique.  Last year was pretty much on physical talent alone.  This year with a more veteran line (hopefully they stay healthy)  and being better shape and understanding the college game better, Ford could be one of the top three or four backs in the BE next year.

[dabull80]

I think if fumbling was really a big issue he would not have gotten the ball so many times around the goal line.  Just imo.

[South_Florida_Flip]

I read he dropped fat and gained muscle.  The picture of him looks awesome.

The biggest beneficiary of this is MG and the passing game.

Agree 100% on both points. The first thing I noticed from that pic was the loss of some fat. There is no reason why Ford shouldn't be able to have some huge numbers this season.

[Bullpride08]

I'm just saying that he didn't play more last year because of those early fumbles and I don't necessarily disagree with the coaching staff for spreading it out to the other backs.  Certainly we need a featured back to be the go-to guy.  From my view, his ball-handling technique did not show that much improvement as the year went on.  Even in the Sun Bowl he was holding that ball out too far like some sort of "hot potatoe".  I think he got lucky later in the year with some very fortunate bounces too. 

No doubt Mike Ford will be the key to improving our offense this year, if he holds on to the ball and shows the stamina to play week in and out for a full 60 minutes.  I think Ruger is right, he went from out of the game for over a year to right into the fire as a true freshman.  Not an easy thing to do.  We should expect to see a drastic improvement this year in ball handling and stamina.  Certainly the photo above shows the work he has been putting in, let's hope he keeps it up and it pays off.  However, if he comes out of the gate with a fumble or two, expect the coaches to turn to the next guy quickly.   

twilly, fumbling had absolutely no reason for him not playing.  It was in ability to learn the entire playbook, conditioning, and nagging injuries.  He arrived on campus running a 4.94 in the forty in winter conditioning about 14 months ago.  He now is running a sub 4.6 and you can see the physical transformation.  Last year he was a battering ram, this year he'll be a fantastic all-purpose back.  BTW, word is Taylor looks equally as jacked!

 

I'll give you conditioning and playbook knowlege as playing a part in him not getting back into the mixup, but to say his fumbles had nothing to do with it?  Sorry, every player last season that had fumblities (unless their last name was Grothe) got pulled, Ford esp. 

It might make sense if Taylor didn't have a similar problem holding onto the ball, and Williams was ineffective as the season wore on.  The real killer for Ford was the reasons I stated, a staff would live with the fumbles from a true freshman if he at least could effectively learn the blocking schemes, and read option....neither of which Ford had effectively mastered until nearly season end, and even then he was learning.

This season will be a different one for Ford all together.

[bulls96go]

nail...here comes the hammer!

[Jake_Ryan]

If Ford does what I think he can, and the coaches give him the carries, this will be a special year for the USF offense.

[USF-PMR]

AS long as he improves his speed and agility we will make tremendous gains this year with the Soph.

[smazza]

maybe ford will make it as a body builder one day

[smazza]

If Ford does what I think he can, and the coaches give him the carries, this will be a special year for the USF offense.

you guys are dreaming if you think next year will be different than last year with ford and our running game

usf better add some wrinkles because teams have figured out grothe