THE SKINNY

Height/Weight: 5-foot-11, 196 pounds

Hometown/High School: Stafford, VA (North Stafford H.S.)

Ranking: ★★★★ (0.9655 247Sports Composite)

Notable Offers: Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, and USC

HIGHLIGHTS

THE TALE

For the better part of his recruitment, Devyn Ford appeared to be a heavy Virginia Tech lean with Clemson and Ohio State trailing the Hokies. This, however, did not stop James Franklin and his staff from continuing to chip away at Ford.

Ford visited Penn State for the Whiteout Game last fall, and then he popped up on campus again for Junior Day in February. Class of 2018 signee Nana Asiedu was a high school teammate of Ford and running back signee Ricky Slade is another native Virginian that Ford is good friends with, both of these players would join in the recruiting pitch being made to Ford from JMFF and company.

Don’t overlook the Saquon effect, either. Having Saquon be arguably the face of college football last season and already being the odds-on favorite to win NFL Rookie of the Year in 2018 certainly does not hurt when it comes to recruiting running backs.

Ford took his official visit to Penn State the weekend of the Blue-White Game. At this point, the winds of change had already begun to blow in Ford’s recruitment, but this was the weekend that began to swing things in Penn State’s favor.

After an A+ official visit for Ford, the Nittany Lions seized momentum in his recruitment and never let go, securing Ford’s commitment earlier this afternoon.

OUTLOOK

With Penn State continuing to recruit at a level as elite as any program in the country at running back, there may not be a direct path to the field for Devyn Ford. Miles Sanders still has two years of eligibility and Ricky Slade has all the tools needed to shoot up the depth chart quickly. That said, great running backs tend to find the field early, and Ford should be no exception.

Ford does everything at a high level. His vision, instincts, and balance are all off the charts. While Ford does not have elite straight line speed, he is extremely quick and agile in the open field. He also accelerates through the hole extremely well, and shows some chops as a receiver out of the backfield.

Welcome to Penn State, Devyn!