By Heath Bradley.

Brandon Ford is looking to lead by example. “This fall camp my main thing is to be more consistent at the point of attack, blocking, catching. Being consistent and helping the younger guys get better. “  He understands that his ability to make plays in the passing game is not all that matters in this offense. Ford understands that his ability to block on the line of scrimmage is just as if not more important than his ability to catch the ball. Ford who is a converted wide receiver has had a good camp, and is excited to be the every down tight end in 2012.

While worrying about raising his own game for 2012, Ford is also helping his fellow teammates become better players in the case that he has to miss playing time.

“Obviously this is a young group behind me. The one thing I am trying to do is stay on the younger guys. Let them know that if you do not make a good play here, go on to the next play. If I go down, one of you has to be ready to step up. The guys are coming along real good,” said Ford.

This says a lot about Ford, while working hard to improve as a player, he is also taking the time to help the players behind them become better players, always putting the team first.

It is not just tight ends that Ford is working to help improve. “I am also grinding, pushing. I am trying to help Dalton Freeman with the guys on the offensive line, just get guys going. To let them know that we may have a bad day, but we just have to come back, keep working.” Ford understands that this is a team game and that the team is going to have ups and downs. He is working to stress to the team that play hard through the ups and the downs, that how a team handles adversity will determine how far they go.

As far as the race behind Ford at backup tight end, according to Ford there is no clear-cut second team option.

“Right now I can not even say; all of the guys are making plays.  We have depth at the tight end position. Any of those guys can be there, those guys are working really hard, I am proud of those guys,” said Ford.

The more options the team has at tight end the better, this will allow Morris to use a variety of guys in multiple situations that can give the Tigers an advantage. Eleven days into fall camp, this seems to be the goal of how Morris plans to use the tight end position in 2012. The ability to use the tight end as a matchup problem will be key for the Clemson offense, and according to Ford this is exactly their goal.

“We are trying to pick up on every advantage we have on our opponents this year,” said Ford.