When Dee Ford arrived on Auburn's campus in 2009 as an undersized defensive end, few may have seen someone who could become one of college football's most dominant defensive players by his senior year and a potential first-round draft pick.
Whether the experts saw it or not, it's happening.
NFLDraftScout.com has Ford listed as its No. 28 overall prospect in this year's NFL Draft, and its No. 3 defensive end.
So, who was one person who saw Ford being successful? Dee Ford himself.
"You set an ultimate goal, and that was my ultimate goal, to be at the top of my game and playing with the best," Ford said. "I want to be the best at what I do, and that was my mindset going in."
Ford accumulated 91 tackles and 20.5 sacks with one interception during his tenure on the Plains, including 31 tackles and 10.5 sacks last season.
The defensive end then moved on to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, where he won the MVP award in the South team's victory.
Ford was unable to participate in the NFL Combine after doctors refused to allow him to participate in the events because of a past back injury that sat Ford out for the majority of the 2011 season.
Being excluded from the NFL Combine came as a huge shock to Ford.
"I was absolutely surprised," Ford said. "It kind of knocked my training off because everything is timing with training."
While missing the Combine was a setback for Ford, he transferred his focus to Auburn's Pro Day, where he made up for lost time.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn was impressed with Ford's work ethic.
"He's done everything we've asked in the weight room, working out and conditioning, and he performed very well today," Malzahn said.
Ford impressed scouts from numerous teams, weighing in at 6-foot-2 and 244 pounds.
He either led or finished in the top three of all the drills performed by the 17 participants at Auburn's Pro Day.
After claiming he was better than South Carolina's Jadaveon Clowney and saying Clowney played "like a dog in a meat market," Ford knew he had to back up his words.
While Clowney performed 21 reps at the bench press drill, Ford blew away the widely projected No. 1 overall pick's mark with 29 reps.
When Ford was told that he had done 29 reps, while Clowney had only done 21, he downplayed the situation.
"It is what it is," Ford said with a laugh. "He still did great. I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot."
Ford had an impressive vertical jump, reaching 38 inches and finishing only 2.5 inches away from top-performer Chris Davis.
Ford also tied Davis for best result in the broad jump category, with each player jumping 10 feet, 4 inches.
Ford wrapped the day up with the 40-yard dash, clocking a time of 4.53.
"I'm very pleased," Ford said. "I put in a lot of work, and I'm so excited about the drills that I wasn't able to do before, where I was caught off guard, because those are things I can work on."
While Ford played defensive end in college, he might be used as an outside linebacker because of his speed.
"Everyone is looking at me at defensive end, but I'm dropping in space a lot in the 3-4, and outside linebacker looks good," Ford said. "Wherever I'm taken, I'm going to put all of my effort into it."
Regardless of where or when he goes, Ford knows the entire time what many people are just now recently finding out. His road is just beginning.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
