Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network.
MORE TAKE TWO: Will Johnny Manziel get another chance in the NFL?
THE STORYLINE
Devyn Ford keeps a pretty low profile.
While stories are being written often about whether five-star Quavaris Crouch will play running back or linebacker in college and as some running backs make their commitments, there’s Ford, the top-ranked running back in this class who’s quietly going through his recruitment and figuring things out.
As it stands, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and Penn State are the front-runners for the Stafford (Va.) North Stafford standout. Clemson, North Carolina and Oklahoma round out his top six.
Trips have happened or will happen for all three of his favorites and it sounds like Ohio State has the edge after an excellent visit to Columbus recently. But the Hokies and the Nittany Lions are going to have their opportunities to convince Ford they’re the right team for him moving forward.
Can Ohio State dip into Virginia to land the nation’s top running back or can Virginia Tech (or possibly Penn State) stave the Buckeyes off?
FIRST TAKE: ADAM FRIEDMAN, RIVALS.COM RECRUITING ANALYST
“Ford is a very special back with smooth speed, vision, explosiveness and very good hands. As a runner, he is a little upright but that’s not a problem because he runs with a lot of power. Ford does a good job finding daylight and has the speed to score from pretty much anywhere on the field. We’ve seen a lot of improvement from Ford with his lateral quickness and ability to change directions on a dime.
“Ford’s recruitment will likely boil down to Virginia Tech and Ohio State. It will go back and forth as he finishes out his spring visit plans this month and likely makes a decision in May or June. He just took a two-day unofficial visit to Ohio State and the Buckeyes have quietly been trending for about a month or two. They have the momentum right now but Virginia Tech will get Ford’s first official visit and the Hokies should snatch some of that momentum. Penn State will make some waves the weekend after during Ford’s official visit to State College, but Ohio State has the last official visit and that should seal the deal for the Buckeyes. A lot of credit should be given to area recruiter Larry Johnson for his work with Ford given how much Virginia Tech and Penn State have going for them in Ford’s recruitment.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR
“It’s interesting to ask if Virginia Tech can steal him because it used to be running backs, a lot of the big-time running backs especially in Virginia, would go to Virginia Tech. It would have to be some other team trying to come in and steal them.
“It kind of shows how Virginia Tech has fallen off a little in recruiting, although they’ve done well with the coaching change and they had a good recruiting year last year. Ohio State gets who it wants for the most part. When I did my picks last week, I picked Ohio State for Ford. A lot of people think he’s going to stay home, but there are a whole lot of people who think he’s going to the Big Ten and he’s going to be a Buckeye.
“I’m picking Ohio State for him just because when they get guys on campus, Urban Meyer closes them.”
