3 things to know about Dee Ford, Auburn’s quarterback nuisance and piano man
Dee Ford has been Auburn’s best pass rusher this season. He’ll do his best to make life miserable for Jameis Winston on Monday night.
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1. He’ll bring the heat.
How disruptive will Auburn be against Florida State's talented offense on Monday night? A big part of the answer to that question will lie with Dee Ford, who led the Tigers in 2013 with 8.5 sacks and 12.5 total tackles for loss. He accounted for nearly a third of the team's sacks -- Auburn finished the regular season with 28, a number that ranks 46th nationally.
Ford has had a couple of multi-sack games this season -- against Ole Miss and Texas A&M -- and the Tigers may need another strong effort from their top pass rusher to slow down Jameis Winston. In fact, a lot might hinge on Ford and the Tigers' front four because Winston has been fantastic against the blitz.
Ford has shown he can make big plays in key situations, like this sack of Johnny Manziel to preserve Auburn's win in College Station:
2. He can play you a tune.
In addition to being a pretty good football player, Ford is a pretty good piano player as well.
Ford has been spending some time playing the piano at the team hotel in California over the last week, but he prefers not to sing too often, for one important reason:
“I sing too, but I try not to do that too much,” Ford said. “Takes away from my aggressiveness.”
Definitely can’t have that just days ahead of the biggest game of his career.
3. The NFL Draft is next.
Because of his size (6’2, 240 pounds), Ford might not be suitable for defensive end at the pro level, but that doesn’t mean he should expect to slide deep into the draft.
SB Nation’s draft gurus consider Ford a top-100 overall prospect, and they think he’s the sixth-best outside linebacker available. He has a chance, based on those rankings, to go in the first two rounds come May.
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