LIKE IT IS

Arkansas safety knows what he does best

— He’s a hitter.

There isn’t much he likes more than being at full speed and seizing the opportunity to rack and crack someone.

For Elton Ford, it doesn’t matter if it is at safety or on special teams. He just likes it.

He takes it literally when defensive coordinator Willy Robinson says arrive at full speed with an attitude.

“It means a lot to me to be known as a guy who left nothing on the field,” the senior from Alpharetta, Ga., said.

In May, he’ll also be known as a player who graduated in four years with a degree in nutrition, but there was never any doubt about his educational responsibilities.

His mom, Shirley, works in a bank and has been determined that her son and daughter will graduate.

“I’m graduating and my sister, who is working her way through college, is getting close,” he said with a laugh. “We don’t have a choice as far as Mom is concerned.”

Ford is very family-oriented and talks with his mom several times a week. But when it comes to football he is about one thing.

“My specialty is hitting,” he said.

In most ways, Ford is a prime example of what Bobby Petrino and his staff are about when it comes to recruiting.

Ford played on both sides of the ball in high school. His senior season he rushed for 777 yards and 7 touchdowns, had 24 catches for 337 yards and another touchdown as a receiver, and had 107 tackles, 4 interceptions and 9 pass break-ups as a safety.

Yet, he was considered a two-star recruit.

Petrino and his staff have often said they don’t go by stars, but by what their eyeballs reveal to them.

They also study how kids learn. They look at test scores and transcripts, they talk to counselors and teachers, and then they adjust their teaching methods to fit the kid.

What they saw in Ford was an aggressive young man who loved the game and was willing to put in all the work it took to improve.

Ford started eight games as a true freshman before an injury sidelined him.

He came back and started eight of 11 games as a sophomore, and after some suspensions sent some players home in Memphis, he stepped up big in the Liberty Bowl and tied his career high with 10 tackles, which he set as a freshman against Florida.

He was a key reserve as a junior and stepped up to start in the victory over LSU that pushed the Arkansas Razorbacks past the Tigers into the Bowl Championship Series Sugar Bowl.

Now, going into his senior season, he said he and all the seniors are dedicated to having a “very memorable” year.

“This is our final year in college, and we want to leave a legacy,” he said.

Regardless of how this season turns out, these seniors, the ones who redshirted as freshmen and those who had to step up as 17- and 18-yearolds, are going to be remembered.

The Razorbacks program was divided and in disarray when Petrino was asked to leave the Atlanta Falcons to save the recruiting class and stop the bleeding.

Counting transfers, there are 17 young men who are seniors who made a commitment to the Razorbacks and Petrino.

Ford was one of those, and like the 16 others he more than survived Petrino’s boot camp that was necessary to change the way players approached the game and their thinking.

“I won’t kid anyone, the first year was tough,” he said. “We realized, though, it was going to make us better players and better people.

“Quitting never entered my mind. I’ve learned a lot here and am continuing to. Our defense gets to go up against the best receiving corps in college football every day. That makes you better.”

Ford has met every challenge head on since he became a Razorback, and along the way he has become a challenge, too.

Elton Ford is a hitter.

Sports, Pages 17 on 08/18/2011