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Paris Ford might be the most highly anticipated redshirt freshman in Pitt football history.

Normally a recruit of his caliber - he was No. 51 overall in the Rivals.com rankings of the 2017 recruiting class - plays right away. Not Ford; he missed the early stages of fall camp last year while getting some academic matters in order, and that missed time ultimately led to a redshirt.

Now, the Pitt coaching staff has one of its most talented players ready to go and has to find a way of how to get the most out of him.

Ford came to Pitt as a highly-touted safety prospect, but this spring he moved to cornerback. He is also explosive with the ball in his hands as well, which has led to the staff using Ford on offense and special teams. For his part, Ford seems up to the challenge.

“The coaches, their doors are always open,” Ford said. “So I’m in and out of meetings all the time, getting extra coaching or extra knowledge. I actually talk to Quadree (Henderson) sometimes to get some little tips from him, from punts and things of that nature. So it’s not that hard, but it’s a little bit of multi-tasking.”

Defensive coordinator Randy Bates thinks Ford is up to the task of moving around this season - both between cornerback and safety and between offense and defense.

“I haven’t seen anything to think it’s been a problem,” Bates said. “He’s certainly a good enough athlete to do both and I’m sure he’ll do that.”

Added Ford: “I think they already knew about that before I came in, just waiting to get the ball in my hands just to see what I can do.”

Ford moved to cornerback in the spring and has been competing for a starting spot there during camp, but head coach Pat Narduzzi introduced the idea of maybe getting some looks at safety as well.

“He’s getting better,” Narduzzi said. “He’s picking up the defense better in a couple different spots and I just had a little meeting with him last night, as a matter of fact, just to ask him about safety, to see if he knows what he’s doing there yet. But he’s still working on that.”

Ford said it doesn’t matter where he plays this season.

“Like I said, whatever the team needs me to do - whatever they want me to do - that’s where I’m going. If they put me at center, I’ll go to center.”

When asked if Ford would be moving back to safety, Narduzzi shot it down with a firm “no” and it appears corner will still be the main spot for Ford.

“I feel like I can just follow the number on receiver and give him problems,” Ford said. “Just being energetic out there, whatever the team needs - I’m going to do.”

Bates singled out Ford’s play of late in some recent practices.

“Well Paris has probably had in the last three days, five or six interceptions,” Bates said. “So he is a guy who makes a lot of great plays. We’re looking for just consistency out of a young guy like Paris.”

Veteran cornerback Dane Jackson also added: “He’s been a ballhawk since he got here - since high school as a matter of fact. He’s leading the group in interceptions right now, even from myself. From every DB, he’s leading the group in interceptions. Like I said before, he’s just growing more and more each and every day.”

Ford's growth has been key. He is still the highly-touted player he was coming out of high school, yet there is still some mystery around him - and it looks like the coaches want to keep it that way. Wednesday was the first time Ford has spoken to the media since spring practice, and he too recognized his growth from last season up until now.

“I feel so much more free because I was in summer school around this time,” Ford said. “I wasn't getting my job done; grades weren’t taken care of. Now I feel like I’m more mature and I’m becoming a better person and I’m free now. It’s my first (full) camp so I feel like I’m really taking a step up.”

Jackson agreed about Ford's development.

"I’ve seen a lot of growth from him. Last year he wanted to play right away, but a lot of freshmen go through that - that redshirt phase where they think they should be out there, but I’ve seen a lot of growth from him this camp and he’s getting a lot better each and every day.”