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Rod Steele isn’t often prone to hyperbole.
A police officer in West Homestead and the head coach at Steel Valley, Steele is soft-spoken and direct, choosing his words and measuring his statements. So when he uses a superlative to describe Paris Ford - one of his star players and a Pitt commit who will sign with the Panthers tomorrow - it’s notable.
“I haven’t seen a better center fielder,” Steele told Panther-Lair.com. And he’s not talking about PNC Park. He’s talking about where Ford fits on the football field. The Pitt commit patrolled the deep secondary for Steel Valley, a role he will likely continue as the field safety in Pitt’s defense.
“You put him at free safety, you put him in the middle of the field and he can play sideline-to-sideline and come downhill pretty good,” Steele said. “His range is outstanding. And he has no problem coming down and fitting up in the run lanes. He covers a lot of ground.”
Ford’s physical skills are clear: he made plays all over the field for Steel Valley this past season, scoring 22 total touchdowns and showing a pretty tough style of play. Steele thinks there are a combination of factors that make Ford so good on the field.
“I think his football IQ - he’s very smart, very instinctive,” Steele said. “Paris pays attention and he’s a student of the game. And I think what separates him from a lot of others is that he’s very physical. For his size, he’s a very physical football player and he leaves it all out there. His physicality is really something.”
Ford and his teammates at Steel Valley were virtually unstoppable this season. Their 15-0 run to the PIAA Class AA state championship was unprecedented, as the Ironmen became the first team in PIAA history to “mercy rule” every team they faced.
That is to say, every game this season saw a running clock in the second half on account of Steel Valley leading by at least 35 points. The Ironmen even “mercy ruled” traditional power Southern Columbia in the state title game.
And while Steel Valley had quite a few stars leading the way, Ford was a big part of the success, and not just for what he did on the field.
“We knew his skill set, but to work with him every day and see how he brings the best out of his teammates, that’s what’s special about him,” Steele said. “He makes everyone else around him better because he’s a very competitive athlete, he’s a very competitive person and that just makes everybody else around him have to work harder. That’s his own expectations and he’s not going to have lesser expectations for his teammates.”
Ford is the most highly-decorated recruit to come out of Steel Valley in a long time. He made the Pa. Football Writers Class 2A All-State team. He is a four-star prospect, the No. 51 recruit in the nation and the No. 5 safety prospect. And he was selected to play in the Under-Armour All-America Game.
That last one stands out to Steele (who was named Class 2A Coach of the Year in December).
"Anytime you have a kid that’s privileged enough to play in a national all-star game, that tells you a lot about his skill set," Steele said. "Being one of the elite athletes in America is something special, and you just don’t come across these types of individuals year in and year out. It’s an honor to have a student-athlete represent our school district in a national all-star game.
"Somebody called me the other day and asked me, how do you replace a kid like this? I don’t think you replace a kid like this. They just don’t come around that often. There are a lot of players in western Pennsylvania and there are a lot of football players in the United States of America, and only the elite get chosen. It’s an honor to be his football coach."
