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They also love the most underrated part of his game—his intelligence.
“The thing that is the added bonus with Isaiah is that he’s so
intelligent,” head coach Justin Fuente said. “He can tell you exactly
what’s happening in the course of a game, and that sounds easy, but it’s
a lot easier said than done. He understands leverage and all the nuances
that go into playing the position well. In any given year, you don’t have
that many guys that have that level of understanding.”
Most of his traits come from his brothers and his parents. His mom
gets a lot of attention because of her presence on Twitter and her
attendance at every one of his games, with the exception of one, during
his career. But Ford quickly tells people that his father, Aaron Ford,
comes to a bunch of games as well.
In the end, though, his success, the feeling one gets after a touchdown,
drives that work ethic.
“My parents have instilled a great work ethic in me, and my coaches,
not just my football coaches, but my AAU coaches and my travel coaches
as well,” he said. “If you were to talk to them, they would tell you that
I grew up before their eyes more than anyone else, in terms of working
hard and understanding that success comes with work.
“Once I started to realize that, I became an addict. I always wanted to
work onmy game and perfect my craft in basketball and football because
of the feeling I had when I had success on the field or on the court. I’m
addicted to it. I want it. I need it. I’ll do anything for it.”
Ford now will try to achieve that same success at the NFL level. He
appears to be at least mature enough to handle enhanced competition.
His long-term future consists of eventually returning to Tech to get
his degree in human development. It’s his ticket to do what he wants
when playing football runs its course—coach and be impactful on young
people’s lives in the way his coaches were on his.
Wherever he goes, he assures fans that he’ll never forget a place he
loves and a group of people whom he loves.
It’s a place where he wasn’t sure he’d end up. Now, it’s a place he’ll
always call home.
RECORD-SETTING CAREER
A look at Isaiah Ford’s career records at Tech
Record
Number
Years
Career receptions
210
2014-16
Career TD receptions
24
2014-16
Career receiving yards
2,967
2014-16
Single-season receptions
79
2016
Single-season receiving yards
1,164
2015
Single-season TD receptions
11
2015
Consecutive games with TD reception 5
2015-16
Consecutive 100-yard receiving games 5
2015-16