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By the numbers: Paris Ford's career at Pitt

Paris Ford’s decision to opt out of the final games of his Pitt career leaves a hole in the Panthers’ secondary, and the coaching staff will have to find a way to fill that void this week in preparation for the four-game finish to the regular season.

But while Pat Narduzzi and company get the reserves ready - most likely redshirt freshman Brandon Hill - let’s take a closer look at what Ford did during his Pitt career.

2017
Ford joined Pitt as a four-star prospect and the highest-rated recruit to pick the Panthers since Dorian Johnson in the class of 2013, but his arrival on campus was delayed due to academic issues from high school. As such, Ford didn’t actually join the team until after training camp had started in August, and that held him back, leading to a redshirt as a true freshman.

2018
Ford’s redshirt freshman season was a lost cause, for a variety of reasons. The issues started in spring camp when the coaches moved Ford from his natural position of safety to cornerback, ostensibly because they saw an opening for him to get on the field sooner. But that opportunity never came; while Ford played in nine games that season and logged 120 snaps, he didn’t make a single start and logged more than 20 snaps on defense in just two games: 38 in the season-opening win over Albany and 29 in the 45-14 loss at UCF in late September.

Ford recorded five total tackles that season and was targeted six times, per Pro Football Focus, who credited him with allowing four receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown (the score was a 19-yard pass in the loss at North Carolina).

Either way, cornerback wasn’t a fit for Ford, and the move resulted in what was effectively a wasted season.

2019
Back at boundary safety, which was ultimately his best position, Ford thrived in 2019. He led Pitt in tackles (97) and interceptions (three) and ranked second on the team in pass breakups (11) and forced fumbles (three). His tackles were the most by a Pitt defender since Jordan Whitehead had 109 in 2015, and he was named to the All-ACC first team.

Interestingly, Pro Football Focus was not as high on Ford’s performance in its subjective grading system. Among FBS safeties who played at least 500 snaps last season, Ford ranked No. 21 in tackling but No. 91 in overall defense and No. 82 in coverage after giving up 19 catches and two touchdowns on 36 targets.

Ford also missed two starts in 2019 due to targeting disqualifications.

2020
Ford’s final season at Pitt was following the course of his penultimate year. After seven games, he leads the team in tackles with 45 and interceptions with three while also breaking up three passes and recording 3.5 tackles for loss. PFF has him ranked higher among safeties in FBS (No. 47 in overall defense, No. 18 in tackling and No. 45 in coverage) but some of that may be due to the numbers of players who aren’t participating or haven’t logged enough snaps to qualify, since his grades have dropped in overall defense and coverage.

Ford has improved in tackling, though: his grade in that area is up more than 20 points after PFF has charged him with just five missed tackles this season. Last year, the site listed him as missing 21.

Overall, Ford finished his Pitt career with 147 tackles, six interceptions, 14 pass breakups and three forced fumbles. He started 18 of the last 20 games and had more interceptions (six) than touchdowns allowed (five).

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