Ford down to 295 pounds, Odenigbo pushing for role

Illinois DT transfer Tito Odenigbo is working as a second-team tackle, but he likes how things are shaping up.

"It's the same type of defense, the people around here are aggressive - I'm having a good time here," Odenigbo said.

He had some issues getting used to the heat, leaving the opening practice early, and says "Hydration is a key point."

What was it about Miami that made him want to be a part of this program?

"Well my biggest reason for coming here was so I can win as many games as possible," Odenigbo said. "I came from not the most successful program, the University of Illinois. We just had a bad time just adjusting to our new team, coaching staff. I wanted to go to a team that was solidified, had a chance to make progress and I can impact (here)."

Odenigbo says playing in Manny Diaz's defense "is fun."

"Here since we have athletic linebackers that can come up the field - it's kind of fun playing in his defense," Odenigbo said.

DT Jon Ford said after Tuesday’s practice that “everything is going well with us, there’s intensity every day in practice, we’ve got our leaders leading and it’s been going pretty good - we’re executing everything right, so I feel good about us.”

Ford says a big difference in his own play is toning his body this off-season as well as “coming off the ball better.”

“Coaches have been praising me for that, and I feel good about that,” said Ford, who says he’s now weighing in at 295 pounds. That’s down from 315 pounds a year ago.

* Ford’s thoughts on transfer Tito Odenigbo, who is working as a second-team tackle?

“Tito’s been a beast,” Ford said. “He’s been coming off the ball real hard and he knows how to split the double team and everything. So he’s going pretty well.”