Jacob Ford, UCA Taken in 6th round [Archive]

smallcollegefbfan

April 29th, 2007, 02:57 PM

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2007/ford_jacob

OVERVIEW
Ford's long path through the collegiate ranks saw him find a home at Central Arkansas after previous stops at Memphis, the work force and Holmes Community College. Known for his explosiveness coming off the ball, Ford might switch to linebacker at the pro level to take advantage of his speed and range.

Ford was a 215-pound two-way lineman at Melrose High School, where he earned Prep Star All-Southeast Region and High Tech Tennessee's Top Prospect List honors as a senior in 2000. He was also named to the All-Shelby Metro team, as he recorded 96 tackles with 17 sacks and three forced fumbles during his final season, helping the team to a 9-4 record.

As a junior, Ford collected 76 tackles with 10 sacks. He was part of the school's 1998 state championship team. For his prep career, he registered 229 tackles with 32 sacks and caused nine fumbles.

The son of world renowned jazz musician, the late Fred "Sweet Daddy Goodlow" Ford, Jacob enrolled at the University of Memphis in 2001. As a true freshman, he was listed third on the depth chart at right defensive end. He appeared in 10 contests, posting 20 tackles (11 solos) with a stop for a loss and two quarterback pressures, earning Freshman All-Conference USA honors. Ford left the school after his first season to attend to family matters.

He next arrived on the collegiate scene at Holmes Community College in 2004, where he earned All-State honors in 2004 as a rush end. In nine contests, he registered 42 tackles (32 solos) with 5½ sacks, 11½ stops behind the line of scrimmage and six quarterback pressures. He deflected two passes, caused three fumbles and recovered another.

Ford's next stop was to the University of Central Arkansas in 2005. He earned second-team All-American and first-team All-Region and All-Gulf South Conference honors that year, lining up at both defensive end positions while also seeing action at right defensive tackle. He collected 54 tackles (34 solos) and ranked second in the GSC with nine sacks and 17 stops behind the line of scrimmage. He returned two of his three fumble recoveries for 110 yards and a touchdown and was credited with seven forced fumbles.

Ford appeared in 10 games at left defensive end in 2006, as Central Arkansas moved up to Division 1-AA competition. He garnered All-American second-team honors as Ford posted 48 tackles (31 solos) with eight sacks, 15½ stops for losses and five pressures. He caused three fumbles and returned a fumble recovery 7 yards while also coming up with four pass break-ups.

Ford started all 24 games he played in at Central Arkansas. He registered 102 tackles (65 solos) with 17 sacks for minus-126 yards and 32½ stops for losses totaling 169 yards. He was credited with 14 quarterback pressures and 10 forced fumbles. He returned three of his four fumble recoveries for 117 yards and a touchdown. He also deflected nine passes.

ANALYSIS
Positives: Has a tall, lean frame with a tight waist, long arms, large hands, adequate chest development and muscular arms, but his frame might be at maximum growth potential and any additional bulk will impact his speed … Best when making tackles on the move, showing good quickness, loose hips and lateral agility to move down the line and side-step trash in attempts to make the play … Has the strength to leverage vs. tight ends and lead blockers (not enough to stack and control vs. linemen) … On the move, he locates the ball quickly and uses his hands with force to wrap and secure as a tackler … Effective maintaining contact to control tight ends … Has the forward burst and balance to pursue the ball carrier at the edge … Collegiate defensive end, but his ability to laterally flow with the play and a lack of down lineman's size makes him better suited for outside linebacker … Efficient in attempts to fold inside, showing the quick feet and short-area burst to close and pressure the pocket … Stays low in his pads and drives hard with his legs to drive through and push back the lead blocker when filling the gaps … Needs to improve his strength in the weight room, but has the range to string out the play and is a good collision-type tackler taking on ball carriers on the edge … Has improved his ability to bend off the edge and keep his hands active on the pass rush, showing good arm-under technique … Has the hip swerve to turn and drop off in pass coverage … Uses his arm swipes to defeat some combo blocks … Has the short-area quickness to press and close on the quarterback … Plays with good intensity, showing the balance and body control to avoid trash and stay on his feet … Has a quick burst to close and reads hats well when allowed to flow off the line rather than remain stationary … Has the hip flexibility to redirect and recover when he out-runs the play … When keeping plays in front of him, he will face up and wrap, bringing his hips to drive through ball carriers … Has shown steady improvement using his hands to protect his feet from cut blocks … Has the valid timed speed to generate long pursuit.

Negatives: Has played in a down position and must adjust to standing upright … Gets engulfed by larger blockers when he does not use his swim moves effectively … His lower body frame could use muscle refinement, as he gets pushed around quite a bit and lacks the bulk and raw power to split double teams … Has shown some improvement, but when his hands get outside the frame, he leaves his chest exposed and then struggles to shed … Not the most instinctive player and is slow to diagnose and read keys … Can be fooled by play-action and misdirection and gets caught out of position often on screens and traps … Lacks a secondary move when his initial burst fails … Better fit in a stand-up position, as he is better when folding inside or in pursuit and lacks run containment strength playing on the line … Uses his speed to get into the backfield quickly, but then seems to get lost trying to locate the ball (needs a clear path to the quarterback to be successful, as he struggles to locate working through the pile).

Compares To: Robert Mathis, Indianapolis -- Ford might be a better fit for linebacker, but he has questionable instincts and quick reaction skills to play there. He needs to be on the move to be effective, but is slow to diagnose and read keys. He needs to develop more strength to be more effective against the run, but additional bulk could impact his rare timed speed.

INJURY REPORT
2006: Sat out the Southern Arkansas clash (Nov. 4) with a left quadriceps strain.

2007: Did not complete agilities at the Combine after re-injuring his quad.

AGILITY TESTS
Campus: 4.62 in the 40-yard dash … 33-inch arm length … 9 7/8-inch hands … Right-handed … 19/45 Wonderlic score.

Combine: 4.68 in the 40-yard dash … 1.61 10-yard dash … 2.7 20-yard dash … Bench pressed 225 pounds 19 times.

HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Melrose (Memphis, Tenn.) High School, playing football for head coach Tim Thompson … Was a 215-pound two-way lineman, earning Prep Star All-Southeast Region and High Tech Tennessee's Top Prospect List honors as a senior in 2000 … Also named to the All-Shelby Metro team, as he recorded 96 tackles with 17 sacks and three forced fumbles during his final season, helping the team to a 9-4 record … As a junior, Ford collected 76 tackles with 10 sacks … Part of the school's 1998 state championship team. For his prep career, he registered 229 tackles with 32 sacks and caused nine fumbles.

PERSONAL
Mass Communications major … Son of Bennie West and world renowned jazz musician, the late Fred "Sweet Daddy Goodlow" Ford. Fred was known for his baritone saxophone, playing with the likes of Little Richard, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Alex Chilton, and died in 1999 after a battle with cancer. He was most known for the 1952 hit "Hound Dog," playing with Big Mamma Thornton … Born July 20, 1983 in Memphis, Tennessee.