'23 GA LB Troy Ford (UCF)

[BobbyMac]

LB / HS DL
Calvary Day School
Savannah, GA

Measurements:
H: 6-2
W: 235

Rankings:
247 Comp:. .. NR
247: ................. 4* ..... #26 SDE ..... #213 OA ..... 90 rating
Rivals: ............. NR
ESPN: .............. NR

Offers:
Notre Dame ..... Offered 3-17-21
GT
----------------- Since ND
Princeton
Aub
Ark
Cincy
Coastal
Duke
GA St
IU
I State
JSU
Liberty
MS St
Mizzou
Tenn
Troy
VT
WV
SCar
UCF

Media Links:

Twitter = https://twitter.com/TroyFordJr2

Hudl = Troy Ford on Hudl


Highlights:

 

[BobbyMac]

 

[BobbyMac]

Listed at SDE by 247 but this has to be a LB offer by Freeman.

 

[BobbyMac]

Mom alert!

CB thrown

 

[dublinirish]

is there a parade in Savannah this year?

 

[dublinirish]

kid has length and also plays Lax

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

is there a parade in Savannah this year?

No. Its canceled. Always a good time everytime we went.

 

[dublinirish]

No. Its canceled. Always a good time everytime we went.

Bummer

 

[Rogue219]

Georgia is so flush with talent. I like the emphasis they're showing down there. ND is his second offer. Hopefully there is prior and consistent contact.

 

[BobbyMac]

CB

 

[EvilleIrish]

CB

Are we allowed to ask why?

 

[BobbyMac]

Are we allowed to ask why?

Freeman didn't publicly go after a kid so early as a developmental offer. He could have recruited him on the side at a slower pace as he hunted bigger game. He loves what he sees and as a plus student at a private school, he's more likely to get ND as a whole than your normal public school recruit. I also like that he's not in ATL where kids get more caught up with the process and work the system for all of the facetime on SM. And Mom's tweeting her approval.

Wouldn't surprise me if he beats one of Quinn's guys to the punch and becomes commit #1.

 

[Luckylucci]

It’ll be interesting to see how Freeman builds out the depth chart. It sure looks like he’s wanting at least 1 bigger/physical gap filler type LB in each class. Junior and Troy seem to fit that profile.

https://irishsportsdaily.com/s/14530/2023-lb-troy-ford-jr-surprised-by-notre-dame-offer/1

 

[BobbyMac]

247 bumped him to 4* (at SDE still) Per their history, they did it in March but his Mom tweeted about it this morning.

 

[BobbyMac]

Freebie from Singer/Rivals (from a couple weeks back)

 

[Irishnuke]

Sup Mrs. Ford?

 

[zelezo vlk]

Man I completely misread her tweet and thought she said 0 work ethic. Like damn mom, that's a bit harsh

 

[BobbyMac]

Wait...

Plays LAX? This guy is straight from Central Casting.

 

[Luckylucci]

In this VIP article from Sinclair, he said he's finalizing plans to be in town for the BBQ. Says he talks with Freeman a lot.

WATCH: 2023 4-Star Troy Ford Lines Up Notre Dame Visit (247sports.com)

 

[Luckylucci]

I don't know how you fit Bowen, Styles, and Ford into the '23 class but I love that Freeman just keeps recruiting.

 

[NDIrish88]

I don't know how you fit Bowen, Styles, and Ford into the '23 class but I love that Freeman just keeps recruiting.

Thinking only 2 LBs Luck?

 

[Trait Expectations]

Thinking only 2 LBs Luck?

That's what I'm thinking after this 4 LB haul. Maybe 3 but that's the absolute max with how much talent we'll have on the roster.

Kahuna Kia won't make it 2 full years before transferring out. I hate making those claims but he's going to have to be the biggest hidden 5 start talent to earn reps with the killers coming in 22/23

 

[NDIrish88]

That's what I'm thinking after this 4 LB haul. Maybe 3 but that's the absolute max with how much talent we'll have on the roster.

Kahuna Kia won't make it 2 full years before transferring out. I hate making those claims but he's going to have to be the biggest hidden 5 start talent to earn reps with the killers coming in 22/23

Agreed on both accounts. Styles and Bowen is top notch LBs too. Sign them and be done. If they do get a 3rd LB he has to be all world.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

We are gonna need a HolyCross Grey Shirt program.

 

[Luckylucci]

Thinking only 2 LBs Luck?

Yea, that’s where I’m at. I think Freeman just keeps recruiting but 3 which makes 7 over 2 cycles seems unnecessary with the 6 he could land in ‘22 and ‘23. Do we really need another Mike only LB with JR in ‘22 when guys like Burnham and Bowen could also play Mike?

With that said, it’s not really that crazy. It’s only one over a traditional 6 man haul. I just think when you’re recruiting a position so well use numbers on the ones you aren’t. 6 is a two deep, lets go get another athletic DB. Some really nice DB’s they’re in on the ‘23 class.

 

[arrowryan]

Yea, that’s where I’m at. I think Freeman just keeps recruiting but 3 which makes 7 over 2 cycles seems unnecessary with the 6 he could land in ‘22 and ‘23. Do we really need another Mike only LB with JR in ‘22 when guys like Burnham and Bowen could also play Mike?

With that said, it’s not really that crazy. It’s only one over a traditional 6 man haul. I just think when you’re recruiting a position so well use numbers on the ones you aren’t. 6 is a two deep, lets go get another athletic DB. Some really nice DB’s they’re in on the ‘23 class.

I think this is something we'll need to get used to. I remember reading in an interview, don't remember which one, Freeman will play the best three linebackers. I remember him saying "if your second best linebacker on the team is the backup MIKE, are you not going to play him?".

I have no idea how many linebackers he'll take in 2023, but maybe us Irish fans should stop labeling linebackers by position because it might not matter in the Freeman regime.

 

[NDIrish88]

I think this is something we'll need to get used to. I remember reading in an interview, don't remember which one, Freeman will play the best three linebackers. I remember him saying "if your second best linebacker on the team is the backup MIKE, are you not going to play him?".

I have no idea how many linebackers he'll take in 2023, but maybe us Irish fans should stop labeling linebackers by position because it might not matter in the Freeman regime.

Yeah I saw in a other thread that Burnham could play Vyper maybe. Gotta love Freeman. Just get the best players and scheme around them. Very flexible thinking.

 

[Irish#1]

Yea, that’s where I’m at. I think Freeman just keeps recruiting but 3 which makes 7 over 2 cycles seems unnecessary with the 6 he could land in ‘22 and ‘23. Do we really need another Mike only LB with JR in ‘22 when guys like Burnham and Bowen could also play Mike?

With that said, it’s not really that crazy. It’s only one over a traditional 6 man haul. I just think when you’re recruiting a position so well use numbers on the ones you aren’t. 6 is a two deep, lets go get another athletic DB. Some really nice DB’s they’re in on the ‘23 class.

We see kids change their minds all the time, so there's no reason not to continue recruiting. I suspect Freeman also sees some growing into other positions.

 

[Luckylucci]

I think this is something we'll need to get used to. I remember reading in an interview, don't remember which one, Freeman will play the best three linebackers. I remember him saying "if your second best linebacker on the team is the backup MIKE, are you not going to play him?".

I have no idea how many linebackers he'll take in 2023, but maybe us Irish fans should stop labeling linebackers by position because it might not matter in the Freeman regime.

And that’s a fair point but I think that is more relevant when you are talking about players with diverse skill sets, like Bowen, Burnham, and Sneed. Those guys could play multiple positions and who cares where they started or what they were recruited for. But, do we really think it’s feasible that JR and Ford play on the field together, in today’s game of football, when we’ve recruited Burnham, Sneed, Bowen, etc.? And that’s the point. The prospect has to matter to some degree because they still have to have a certain skill set to play different positions. And they will be compared to other prospects we’ve recruited.

If my goal is to get the best 3 on the field, I’d still want guys that have more position flex than not. Because their skill sets, in theory, would be more diverse.

He’s not going to play 3 Mike LB’s if 2 of them can’t play in space, cover, blitz, etc. Because they wouldn’t be part of the best 3. Not a huge deal and I think this is more Freeman just continuously recruiting which is great. I’ll be interested to see if they were to take a guy like Ford this early. Me thinks this could be similar to Luttrell.

 

[BobbyMac]

I'm down for the wait and see what he does in fall camp and on the field. His LB room in Cincy had converted TE's and other oddities.

I bet we see Will Schweitzer in the LB room at some point unless he explodes at Vyper or explores opportunities elsewhere.