The Jacoby buzz continues
posted by LW, Thursday, January 28, 2010
This Jacoby Ford thing is picking up some serious speed.
Pun intended.
Judging from the reports that followed Day 3 of Senior Bowl practices, Ford's stock continues to rise.
Here's a take from The Sporting News' Russ Lande:
Clemson WR Jacoby Ford clearly has established himself as the most polished receiver on the North roster. He runs precise routes and shows the acceleration to separate out of cuts. We also were impressed with his ability to escape jams, using his quickness to get cornerbacks to open their hips early.
This article says the Packers are taking a close look at Ford.
And Dolphins coach Tony Sparano discusses the merits of going small and fast.
"Finding a returner in this league, is a major, major plus, it really is," Sparano said. "When you find a player like that, he turns a game around like that.
"For a smaller player, the returnability, the amount of jobs he can do, maybe as a receiver in the Wildcat package, some flexibility that way, you can start to count touches in your head and say, 'I can get this guy X amount of plays and X amount of touches per game.'"
Ford even makes a guarantee to the Chicago Tribune.
"I don't want to say any times because then if I don't, then someone might be upset. I don't want to jinx myself."
When the conversation turned to a time Ford was comfortable with, then he was able to commit to a number.
"A 4.2?" Ford said. "I can guarantee a 4.2."
More on Ford in the Detroit Free Press:
Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford: The quarterbacks seem most comfortable going to Ford, who has caught more passes than anyone else in practice. He’s a slot receiver who also returns kicks and punts – all needs for the Lions. He’s speedy, though Jefferson said he needs to show it more.
At this point it's probably time for me to admit I was wrong about Duke. During the offseason, I took issue with folks who thought they'd be the best team in the ACC. Now they look like ... the best team in the ACC.
Leonard Hamilton of Florida State said going into last night's loss in Durham that he thought the Blue Devils were the best because they're getting the most out of what they have. The man has a point; Coach K is doing a helluva job if he's winning with Brian Zoubek playing major minutes, and to a lesser extent Lance Thomas.
More on the Blue Devils' win in The Charlotte Observer.
Apparently some Florida State fans ended up in some coveted front-row seats last night but were nowhere to be found after halftime.
Good story here on Ish Smith, who I believe has been the best player in the ACC thus far.
But given my errant preseason take on the Devils, what the heck do I know.
Should be an entertaining game tonight between the Deacons and Yellow Jackets. More on that in the Winston-Salem Journal.
The Fayetteville Observer has a breakdown of North Carolina's win over N.C. State.
The ACC Sports Journal has a piece on the state of football recruiting in North Carolina.
And speaking of recruiting in North Carolina, Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier has an interesting piece on Clemson's regional emphasis.
In aspiring to better those lofty heights, Swinney is moving away from the Tommy Bowden recruiting doctrine and toward Ford's talent-acquisition philosophy -- the four-hour rule.
Ford's recruiting strategy was simple: the shorter the distance, the more time for developing relationships and learning the character of prospects.
"What we did is look at everything within four hours," Ford said. "Clemson was our home base. The (four-hour radius) took us up to around Greensboro and to the Alabama line."
In a blog post, Sawchik also diagnoses some of the woes afflicting the basketball team.
The Tampa Tribune does some good reporting on the coaches who expressed interest in the South Florida job that was given to Skip Holtz.
No Bowden on that list, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a candidate (I heard he was, for what it's worth).
And apparently Craig James threatened to sue Texas Tech if it didn't investigate the actions of Mike Leach.
“The threat did not appear to be an idle threat as the parent expressed genuine concern for the health and well-being of his injured child, as well as other student-athletes,” Tech’s letter says.
The "other student athletes" part is interesting, given that all we've heard from those "other student athletes" is utter silence.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
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This Jacoby Ford thing is picking up some serious speed.
Pun intended.
Judging from the reports that followed Day 3 of Senior Bowl practices, Ford's stock continues to rise.
Here's a take from The Sporting News' Russ Lande:
Clemson WR Jacoby Ford clearly has established himself as the most polished receiver on the North roster. He runs precise routes and shows the acceleration to separate out of cuts. We also were impressed with his ability to escape jams, using his quickness to get cornerbacks to open their hips early.
This article says the Packers are taking a close look at Ford.
And Dolphins coach Tony Sparano discusses the merits of going small and fast.
"Finding a returner in this league, is a major, major plus, it really is," Sparano said. "When you find a player like that, he turns a game around like that.
"For a smaller player, the returnability, the amount of jobs he can do, maybe as a receiver in the Wildcat package, some flexibility that way, you can start to count touches in your head and say, 'I can get this guy X amount of plays and X amount of touches per game.'"
Ford even makes a guarantee to the Chicago Tribune.
"I don't want to say any times because then if I don't, then someone might be upset. I don't want to jinx myself."
When the conversation turned to a time Ford was comfortable with, then he was able to commit to a number.
"A 4.2?" Ford said. "I can guarantee a 4.2."
More on Ford in the Detroit Free Press:
Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford: The quarterbacks seem most comfortable going to Ford, who has caught more passes than anyone else in practice. He’s a slot receiver who also returns kicks and punts – all needs for the Lions. He’s speedy, though Jefferson said he needs to show it more.
At this point it's probably time for me to admit I was wrong about Duke. During the offseason, I took issue with folks who thought they'd be the best team in the ACC. Now they look like ... the best team in the ACC.
Leonard Hamilton of Florida State said going into last night's loss in Durham that he thought the Blue Devils were the best because they're getting the most out of what they have. The man has a point; Coach K is doing a helluva job if he's winning with Brian Zoubek playing major minutes, and to a lesser extent Lance Thomas.
More on the Blue Devils' win in The Charlotte Observer.
Apparently some Florida State fans ended up in some coveted front-row seats last night but were nowhere to be found after halftime.
Good story here on Ish Smith, who I believe has been the best player in the ACC thus far.
But given my errant preseason take on the Devils, what the heck do I know.
Should be an entertaining game tonight between the Deacons and Yellow Jackets. More on that in the Winston-Salem Journal.
The Fayetteville Observer has a breakdown of North Carolina's win over N.C. State.
The ACC Sports Journal has a piece on the state of football recruiting in North Carolina.
And speaking of recruiting in North Carolina, Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier has an interesting piece on Clemson's regional emphasis.
In aspiring to better those lofty heights, Swinney is moving away from the Tommy Bowden recruiting doctrine and toward Ford's talent-acquisition philosophy -- the four-hour rule.
Ford's recruiting strategy was simple: the shorter the distance, the more time for developing relationships and learning the character of prospects.
"What we did is look at everything within four hours," Ford said. "Clemson was our home base. The (four-hour radius) took us up to around Greensboro and to the Alabama line."
In a blog post, Sawchik also diagnoses some of the woes afflicting the basketball team.
The Tampa Tribune does some good reporting on the coaches who expressed interest in the South Florida job that was given to Skip Holtz.
No Bowden on that list, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a candidate (I heard he was, for what it's worth).
And apparently Craig James threatened to sue Texas Tech if it didn't investigate the actions of Mike Leach.
“The threat did not appear to be an idle threat as the parent expressed genuine concern for the health and well-being of his injured child, as well as other student-athletes,” Tech’s letter says.
The "other student athletes" part is interesting, given that all we've heard from those "other student athletes" is utter silence.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
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Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.