From a small town in South Carolina to Austin, Ford has defied expectations from an early age.
Poona Ford strode into the California sunlight at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where he and his fellow team captains were promptly greeted with a resounding chorus of boos. As the taunts and jeers from the stands grew louder, a wide grin broke across his face.
The USC faithful didn't know it at the time, but Ford had reason to smile. As the fans that packed the stadium and the millions more watching at home soon realized, the Trojans' offense had few answers for Ford and the rest of the Texas defense.