The Pittsburgh Panthers are not necessarily a top-flight recruiting team from a national perspective but, for the 2017 class, the program was able to land a big-time prospect in the form of Paris Ford. The four-star safety ranked as a top-60 player nationally according to 247Sports and, given that lofty perch, Ford was the top overall prospect for Pittsburgh.
However, Chris Peak of Panther-Lair.com reports that trouble could be brewing with Ford. The report indicates that Ford will not be enrolling with the rest of his recruiting class on Monday. It should be noted that Ford "could have an opportunity to qualify this summer and enroll closer to training camp" but this sends red flags everywhere.
The 6'1", 180-pound defensive back was the linchpin of the recruiting class and he chose Pitt over a bevy of programs including Michigan, Alabama, Auburn, Miami, UCLA and Ohio State. If Ford is not able to report to class in the near future, it would certainly be a black mark for the Panthers and this report is not encouraging. Still, details are not fully formed at this point and the next step for both the recruit and the program will be quite intriguing to follow in the coming days.
