2014 - Kaylon "Poona" Ford

[MillerTime843]

He's a redshirt right off the bat....

[EveryThingGreen]

Originally Posted by MillerTime843

He's a redshirt right off the bat....

Trivia question for you.

How many of the top 25 ranked DTs from the 2011 class actually were starters this past season (their 2nd year in the program). (Rivals Rankings).

[EveryThingGreen]

The point to that question is that DT is an incredibly hard position to contribute at early in your career.

It is also why this season may be the year to keep an eye on Phillip Dukes helping us out at DT. He just won most improved during the winter workouts and now he is in his 3rd year with the program.



This was a post made by someone on rivals:

Anthony Johnson was third on LSU's team in TFL in 2012, despite being a backup

1.) Anthony Johnson, Louisiana State; 5-stars, 6.1 RR, #17 on the Rivals 100, 2nd-best prospect in Louisiana; Was a reserve DT playing behind future NFL'ers in 2012, and finished the season with 30 tackles; Had the 3rd-most TFL for LSU with 10, and had 3 sacks; As a true freshman in 2011, played in all 14 games as a reserve DT and finished the season with 12 tackles and a sack.


Timmy Jernigan led all FSU defensive tackles in 2012 with 46 stops, including eight tackles for loss

2.) Timmy Jernigan, Florida State; 4-stars, 6.0 RR, #29 on the Rivals 100, 9th-best prospect in Florida; Finished 2012 as the Seminoles' 8th-leading tackler (46), and had 8 TFLs and 1.5 sacks; As a true freshman in 2011, led all FSU interior defensive linemen with 30 tackles, and had 6 TFLs and 2.5 sacks.


Michael Bennett (#63) missed a lot of time in 2012 with a groin injury

3.) Michael Bennett, Ohio State; 4-stars, 6.0 RR, #41 on the Rivals 100, 2nd-best prospect in Ohio; Appeared in 8 games as a reserve DT in 2012, missing a lot of time early in the season with a groin injury; Made 11 tackles and one sack on the season; Played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2011, making 17 tackles, 5 TFL's, and 3 sacks.

4.) Jordan Phillips, Oklahoma; 4-stars, 5.9 RR, #50 on the Rivals 100, #1-overall prospect in Kansas; Appeared in 10 games as a reserve DT in 2012 and had 12 tackles on the season; Redshirted in 2011.


Delvon Simmons (#8) was a starting DT for Texas Tech in 2012

5.) Delvon Simmons, Texas Tech; 4-stars, 5.9 RR, #80 on the Rivals 100, #1-overall prospect in Pennsylvania; Starting DT for Texas Tech in 2012, and had 27 tackles (13 solo, 14 assisted) with 6.0 tackles for a loss (loss of 16 yards), 2.0 sacks and broke up two passes with one quarterback hurry; Appeared as a reserve in 10 games as a true freshman in 2011 and had 13 tackles, 1.5 TFL, and one sack.

6.) Christian Heyward, Southern Cal; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #94 on the Rivals 100, 10th-best prospect in California; Is no longer with USC's program - no word on where he plans to transfer; Appeared in 5 games as a seldom-used DT in 2012 and had 3 tackles on the season; Redshirted in 2011.


Desmond Jackson was a starter at DT for the Longhorns in 2012

7.) Desmond Jackson, UTexas; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #95 on the Rivals 100, 12th-best prospect in Texas; Played in all 13 games at defensive tackle with 11 starts in 2012; Had 33 tackles, 7 TFL's, and 2 sacks on the season; Appeared in 12 games with 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss and two sacks as a true freshman in 2011.

8.) Viliami Moala, Cal; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #99 on the Rivals 100, 11th-best prospect in California; Appeared in ten games in 2012 with one start, and had 7 tackles and 1 TFL on the season; Appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2011 and had 4 tackles on the season; Enters this spring as Cal's 2nd-string nose tackle.

9.) Phillip Dukes, South Carolina; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #101 on the Rivals 250, 4th-best prospect in South Carolina; A reserve DT for Steve Spurrier in 2012, appearing in 5 games and registering 3 tackles; Redshirted in 2011; Enters this spring as the Gamecocks' 2nd-string DT behind junior Kelcy Quarles.


Starting nose tackle for U-Dub in 2012

10.) Danny Shelton, Washington; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #120 on the Rivals 250, 3rd-best prospect in Washington; Steve Sarkisian's starter at nose tackle in 2012 and earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors; Finished the season with 45 tackles and 4 TFL's; Played in all 13 games as a true freshman, earning a start at defensive tackle in the Washington State game.

11.) Quincy Russell, UTexas; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #125 on the Rivals 250, 16th-best prospect in Texas; Is now at Oklahoma; Didn't qualify out of HS and spent the past two seasons at Trinity Valley (TX) Community College, where he was an NJCAA All-American after recording 75 tackles and a pair of sacks in 2012.

12.) Marquis Anderson, Oklahoma; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #137 on the Rivals 250, 18th-best prospect in Texas; Appeared in five games as a reserve DT in 2012 and had 5 tackles, 2 TFLs, and one sack; Redshirted in 2011.


Started the last 5 games of 2012 for Auburn

13.) Gabe Wright, Auburn; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #141 on the Rivals 250, 13th-best prospect in Georgia; Started the last 5 games of 2012 at DT and appeared in all 12 games; Had 19 tackles and 4.5 TFL's on the season; Played in all 13 games with three starts as a true freshman in 2011.

14.) Marquise Wright, Rutgers; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #149 on the Rivals 250, 4th-best prospect in New Jersey; Has not seen the field in two years at Rutgers; Was moved to offensive line during Rutgers' bowl preparations last December.

15.) Jordan Wade, Oklahoma; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #150 on the Rivals 250, 20th-best prospect in Texas; Redshirted in 2012 for the Sooners; Did not qualify out of HS, so 2012 was his freshman year.


Todd Peat joins Tyler Moore, Aaron Green and Ryan Klachko as four-star players who signed in Bo Pelini's 2011 class but later left

16.) Todd Peat, Jr., Nebraska; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #182 on the Rivals 250, 6th-best prospect in Arizona; Left NU's program and is now at Glendale (AZ) Community College; In 2012, he saw action in mop-up duty against Idaho State and appeared to be out of shape; Redshirted in 2011; I took a lot of heat on Nebraska message boards for calling him "worthless" last August - have yet to receive any mea culpas from the mouthbreathers who called me out on this.

17.) Mickey Johnson, Louisiana State; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #195 on the Rivals 250, 11th-best prospect in Louisiana; Appeared in one game in 2012 and had one tackle; Redshirted in 2011.


Mustafa Jalil enters 2013 as Cal's first-string nose tackle

18.) Mustafa Jalil, Cal; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #210 on the Rivals 250, 25th-best prospect in California; Appeared in 7 games as a reserve in 2012 and had 5 tackles on the season; As a true freshman in 2011, appeared in all 13 games and had 13 tackles and 0.5 sacks; Entered this spring as Cal's 1st-string nose tackle.

19.) Devonte Brown, North Carolina; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #212 on the Rivals 250, 9th-best prospect in North Carolina; Appeared in 10 games as a reserve DT and registered 16 tackles and a sack in 2012; Appeared in UNC's opener against James Madison in 2011 and had one assisted tackle, then did not play for the rest of the season.

20.) Derrick Mitchell, Florida State; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #233 on the Rivals 250, 35th-best prospect in Florida; Missed all of 2012 season with a disk injury in his lower back; Redshirted in 2011.

21.) P.J. Jones, Mississippi State; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #243 on the Rivals 250, 6th-best prospect in Mississippi; Appeared in nine games as a reserve DT in 2012, registering 16 tackles; Was suspended for the Bulldogs' bowl game for a violation of team rules; Played in all 12 regular season games, including a start against Louisiana Tech as a true freshman in 2011.


Antwaun Woods started the first four games of 2012 for USC

22.) Antwaun Woods, Southern Cal; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, #246 on the Rivals 250, 29th-best prospect in California; Started USC's first 4 games at nose tackle and then served as an often-used backup the rest of the 2012 season; Had 16 tackles and 4.5 TFLs; Redshirted in 2011.

23.) Elkino Watson, South Florida; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, 43rd-best prospect in Florida; Saw action in all 12 games as a reserve defensive tackle for USF in 2012, and posted 22 tackles, two sacks, seven TFL and an INT; Appeared in all 12 games at DT as a true freshman, starting one, and tallied 33 tackles, a sack, nine TFL and two pressures.

24.) Kris Harley, Virginia Tech; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, 3rd-best prospect in Indiana; Appeared in 10 games, taking 191 defensive snaps on the year, and had six tackles and an interception on the year; Redshirted in 2011.


LaMichael Fanning got a lot of press in 2012 for his bodyslam of a Missouri running back

25.) LaMichael Fanning, Alabama; 4-stars, 5.8 RR, 21st-best prospect in Georgia; Appeared in 8 games as a reserve DT for the 2012 National Champions and had 4 tackles on the season; Received a lot of attention for body-slamming Missouri tailback Russell Hansbrough; Redshirted in 2011.

[MillerTime843]

I know dukes has been doing good, but what about Deon?

[Gamecocks321]

Originally Posted by MillerTime843

I know dukes has been doing good, but what about Deon?

Dukes? I don't think I've even seen the guy on the field. Deon has been injured from what I've heard. If one of them doesn't see much playing time this season, it wouldn't surprise me to see one of them transfer.

[EveryThingGreen]

We'll see after spring with Dukes. Like I said above, he just won the most improved player during winter conditioning, he is now in his 3rd year with the program, this is a time when a player at DT starts to show up on the field. Surratt is a starter now and played a lot last year, for the 2 years before that - most people forgot he was even on the team.


Green is now 100% healthy and essentially this is his first season he has been available to play. The reports through 2 practices with no pads is that he has the chance to help the team this year on the DL.

[Gamecocks321]

If Dukes, Dixon, and Green can all get going this season, our d-line will be the best in the nation.

[USCBASEBALL1]

Originally Posted by Gamecocks321

If Dukes, Dixon, and Green can all get going this season, our d-line will be the best in the nation.

No reason why all three don't help out this year. This is the first time in 3 years Green has been healthy.

[1966gamecocks]

I wouldn't say that Dukes played a considerable amount but he, Dixon, and Surrett got their fair share of playing time.

[CoverTwo]

The 6-foot-0, 280-pound four-star Ford was easily the strongest and most explosive defensive lineman on hand, and it showed dominating every rep. His strength, with his hands and in the upper and lower body, combined with his quickness overwhelmed any offensive lineman he matched up with. While he worked out exclusively at defensive tackle today, he could also receive offers as a fullback. Ford currently has offers from Tennessee, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Louisville, Kansas State, Arkansas and others. The Volunteers and Gamecocks are currently the top two.

Link: http://247sports.com/Article/Derwin-...do-Nike-121594

[CoverTwo]

Among the most impressive physical characteristics seen during my travels through Florida was the wingspan of 2014 defensive tackle and fullback Poona Ford (Hilton Head, S.C.) Saturday at the Orlando Nike NFTC. While the very explosive and strong Ford stands only 6-feet even, he has a wingspan of 80-inches or 6’8”. And what makes that even more impressive is just how strong he is considering his arm length, as longer arm prospects normally have to build that strength over time at the next level. Not Ford, who has offers from South Carolina, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Arkansas, Louisville and a growing list of others.

Link: http://247sports.com/Article/Talent-...Florida-122015

Four-star defensive tackle Poona Ford features explosive quickness and strength along with as big of wingspan (80-inches) as one will see on a 6-foot-0 person. South Carolina and Tennessee stand out among a growing list of offers.

Link: http://247sports.com/Article/In-Focu...-NFTCs--122037

[JT21]

FWIW both Josh Low and Paul Strelow said today that Tennessee leads for Ford. Per Strelow it's a "lengthy lead".

[JDRAY^#]

Originally Posted by JT21

FWIW both Josh Low and Paul Strelow said today that Tennessee leads for Ford. Per Strelow it's a "lengthy lead".

That is disappointing

[cockypanther]

Originally Posted by JT21

FWIW both Josh Low and Paul Strelow said today that Tennessee leads for Ford. Per Strelow it's a "lengthy lead".

That's disappointing news. Need to get the big guy on campus.

[gamecockphan]

Originally Posted by JT21

FWIW both Josh Low and Paul Strelow said today that Tennessee leads for Ford. Per Strelow it's a "lengthy lead".

Something about that seems off. In state kid with chance to go to best team in east or 5th best team in the east. Seems like we'd lead by a mile.

[Gamecocks321]

We can't lose a talented in-state kid, that's just unacceptable.

[BornCocky'86]

Wouldn't read too much into that report.

[EveryThingGreen]

Originally Posted by BornCocky'86

Wouldn't read too much into that report.

Josh Low was in Charlotte today and he reported hearing the same thing that Strelow tweeted.

I read the same thing you read from WM on TBS. However, 2 different recruiting guys working for 2 different networks that were both in Charlotte today at the same event Ford was at heard something different than what WM is hearing.

UTk made a big impression on him. USC needs to get him back on campus and counter.

[MillerTime843]

and wheres Naquez now?

[UTVOLS]

After this year, our DL will be scary thin. We lose, McCullers, Couch, Hood, Miller, Smith, and Walls to graduation.

I haven't followed Poona's recruitment but if PT is what he is looking for, we sure as heck have it.