Jaylan Ford's heart, talent and work ethic make Texas linebacker an NFL sleeper | Golden
After he turned in a brisk workout at Texas Pro Day on March 20, I asked former Longhorns middle linebacker Jaylan Ford about his health.
The unquestioned leader of the Texas defense last season was never one to make excuses. He’s also a truth machine who always let his play on the field do the most talking.
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But when asked a straightforward question from someone who has asked him more than a few over the last few years, he didn’t mince words.
How close are you to 100%?
“I’m at about 80,” Ford said.
“I’m at about 80,” Ford said.
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Working his way through a tough season
Yes, a significant groin strain that occurred in the second half of the season limited his mobility, kept him out of the Senior Bowl and limited his participation in the NFL rookie scouting combine. True to his reputation.
The 6-foot-3, 242-pound Ford decided against working out at the Senior Bowl and chose to throw his efforts into getting ready for Texas' pro day with the hope that his body would respond during the 10 workouts he had to prepare.
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He understands the NFL was built on tough-minded human beings overcoming obstacles — physical, mental and everything in between — and getting it done on Sundays in the fall. He had 10 workouts to get his body ready for the most important afternoon of his life and he came through with flying colors.
“It’s just kind of dealing with adversity and being able to get healthy enough to come out here,” he said. “I was still battling through some things, but I was still able to come out here and show people, that can I push through anything and show how much I love football. I love showing that I can compete. I think I did pretty good today.”
Following a solid combine with an even more solid pro day
With head coach Steve Sarkisian and mentor Derrick Johnson, who won the Nagurski and Butkus awards in 2004, watching, Ford gave more than 100 NFL personnel — including head coaches Shane Steichen (Colts), Zac Taylor (Bengals) and Mike McDaniel (Dolphins) — what they wanted to see: athleticism and toughness to go with the intelligence for the game he showed during conversations with all 32 teams at the combine.
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He did 18 reps on the 225-pound bench press, which ranks up there with what others were throwing up at the combine.
The 10-foot, 6-inch broad jump hinted at the kind of explosiveness required in the middle. His effort would have put him third for the position, behind Edefuan Ulofoshio's top mark of 10-8 in Indianapolis. Ford's 33½-inch vertical jump would have ranked 10th at his position in Indy.
What really got scouts’ attention was the unofficial time of 4.63 to 4.68 in the 40-yard dash, which was in the top-10 area as well. Linebackers are not only asked to be run defenders at that level, but are also required to run sideline to sideline against these pass-heavy modern offenses. He's deservedly getting attention from teams now and might end up being a draft day steal, not only because of his pro day performance at less than great health, but also because of the intangibles he brings.
And no one asked if he was feeling OK, by the way.
In the NFL, the only question being thrown around consistently is: ‘Can you go or not?’
Ford will show up. It's all he knows.
Jaylan Ford is ready for the next step in his career
Ford, 22, leaves having played in all 49 games he was eligible to dress and started in 26 of 27 games the last two seasons before declaring for the NFL draft one year early. He became the first Longhorn since Keenan Robinson in 2011 to post consecutive 100-tackle seasons and added 10½ tackles for a loss, one sack, a fumble recovery and two interceptions playing behind star tackles T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II.
Those big-boy numbers would have been even better had he not been hampered by a groin injury during the second part of the season. Strength and conditioning coach Torre Becton called him Batman because of his brainy approach to the game.
Ford always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, a testament not to luck, but to his dogged preparation, from film sessions with Johnson — “You’re the general out there,” DJ reminded him more than once — to doing that little bit of extra in the weight room or in meetings to show the type of leadership that hopefully trickled down to future stars.
He expects linebackers David Gbenda, Morice Blackwell and the electric Anthony Hill Jr. to build upon the example he set the last three years under linebackers coach Jeff Choate’s tutelage.
True leaders in a locker room are so important, and while Sarkisian said there are several stepping up this spring, it will be difficult to replace Ford's terrific example. He was a no-excuses, hard-hat carrier who spoke when he needed to speak and carried with him an air of authority that was easy to see whenever he walked into a room and especially onto a football field.
“He was a great guy to be on the same team with,” said quarterback Quinn Ewers. “I definitely didn't want to be on the other side of the ball as him. I learned kind of the work it takes. He was always at the facility getting treatment or putting in extra work. He was a good friend of mine. I’m super excited to see where he goes and how his career turns out.”
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Ford's mother, Youlonda Taylor, said during pro day that she has always preached accountability to her son, from his childhood all the way through his high schoo days at Frisco Lone Star. That makes sense because she's an accountant.
I told her the Texas media could always depend on her son to give authentic, honest answers to our questions, both in good times and bad. It’s a part of his makeup that shows character, leadership and a sense of responsibility that’s important to the profession he will soon join.
“He’s a real thoughtful person,” Taylor said. “He's always been that way from a young age.”
Her life lessons — Ford calls her Superwoman, he said, for the sacrifices she made to support his football dream — have served him well up to this point.
Originally committed to Utah before flipping his pledge to Texas, the three-star recruit was the lowest-rated among Texas’ 2020 signing class that included Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and current UT seniors Jahdae Barron, Alfred Collins, Jake Majors and Vernon Broughton.
The two-time all-state honoree came to Texas as an overachieving playmaker with upside and he’s leaving the same way, albeit with some All-America credentials under his belt.
How does Jaylan Ford project to the NFL?
Ford has met with the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. He figures to be a second- or third-day pick and certainly helped his cause with such a solid pro day workout. His NFL.com draft profile credits him with being a solid tackler with great hands, but also that he has “below-average instincts and field awareness at times,” an assessment on which I frankly can’t co-sign, having seen him make play after play over the years.
That said, the scouts do this for a living. What we can all agree on is Ford is no stranger to overcoming the odds. To go from a three-star recruit to an All-American in three seasons is a nod to his tenacious nature and a work ethic akin to a steel worker in 1970s Detroit.
He will have ample time to prove himself. It’s what Jaylan Ford does best.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford has solid pro timing day for NFL scouts
