KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- As he moved about the Auburn campus as a senior in 2013, Dee Ford was destined to become part of the NFL's next wave of top pass-rushers. It just wasn't so easy for everyone to see at the time.
"People made fun about how quirky he was because he was so serious about things," said Rodney Garner, the Auburn assistant who was Ford's position coach as a senior. "He was walking around with a bottle of water around all the time. He was always staying after practice working on his pass rush.