Marques Ford was feeling good after a visit to the University of Tennessee in January.

A four-star defensive end in the 2015 recruiting class, Ford had chosen Tennessee over dozens of scholarship offers from power conference programs. His official visit in January was the last step in a recruiting process that began before his junior year of high school. Ford was supposed to be able to relax in the two weeks leading up to national signing day, when his commitment to the Volunteers would become official.

But a phone call from Tennessee defensive line coach Steve Stripling two days after Ford returned home to Gibsonton, Fla., changed everything. The Volunteers had accepted more verbal commitments than they had available scholarships. With one five-star and two other four-star defensive ends already in the fold, Ford was the odd man out.

"(Stripling) just basically said he had to pull it and that was it," Ford said. "Of course it was kind of hard to take because I was committed to them during the summer all the way throughout my season. But I couldn't really dwell on it too much. There wasn't that much time to waste."

East Bay High coach Frank LaRosa was overseeing an offseason workout when his phone started "blowing up" with missed calls from Ford. It was out of character for Ford, who was more inclined to text his coach, to call repeatedly in a short period.

"I was like, 'Oh, shoot! Something is up,' " LaRosa said.

When LaRosa called Ford, he learned that Tennessee had pulled the scholarship. Ford immediately asked LaRosa to contact Rutgers defensive line coach Jim Panagos, who had built a strong relationship with Ford during the recruiting process.

Before LaRosa could contact Panagos, Ford sent a tweet that announced he was back on the market, but didn't reveal how he had been cut loose by Tennessee: "Due to circumstances, I am decommitting from the University of Tennessee and opening up my recruitment..."

"As soon as it hit Twitter, Panagos called me and was like, 'I'll be there at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning.' And he was," LaRosa said. "He was basically the first one in line out of 20-something schools. The next day was absolutely outrageous here with college coaches trying to sway Marques."

LaRosa said about 40 schools, including many from the Big Ten, SEC and ACC, tried to contact Ford the day after things fell apart with Tennessee. But Ford had zeroed in on Rutgers, which was the runner-up when he committed to Tennessee last July.

"I liked (Rutgers) before and, honestly, there was nothing wrong with the school, but Tennessee just caught me at the right time, I guess," said Ford, who lived on McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County for a few years in grade school. "Talking to Coach Panagos enlightened me on everything that school had to offer and it opened my eyes a little bit more. So I'm glad he came. Rutgers was my second choice. It turns out Rutgers should have been my first choice all along."

Panagos has gained a reputation as the best recruiter on head coach Kyle Flood's staff. The way Panagos handled Ford's recruitment provided a glimpse into why so many prospects have developed a connection with the passionate former Maryland defensive tackle.

"Coach Panagos was not only a coach, he was my friend," Ford said. "So staying in touch was important. He just wanted to look out for me. It wasn't just about football and that was important, too. You need that in a coach so that tied into me making my decision."

The relationship was put to the test when Ford made his commitment to Tennessee. Months of working to build a relationship had left Rutgers in second place. Panagos' true colors were revealed in that moment of disappointment and it made an impression that stuck with Ford and LaRosa.

"Sometimes, people can be like, "Well, screw you,' even if they won't really come out and say that," said LaRosa, who grew up on Long Island. "But Coach Panagos told him flat-out: 'It was a pleasure recruiting you, I think you'll be successful wherever you go.' That was it. He didn't have any ill will. Coach Panagos would text me and just ask me how he's doing and just keep nudging him and keep telling him to keep working harder and harder. I think that was one thing that Marques really respected about him. When it came down to it, that's who Marques asked me about. That's a credit to Coach Panagos, his recruiting, but ultimately just the fact that he was real with Marques and he treated Marques the way you would hope kids get treated through this process."

Ford committed to Rutgers the day Panagos visited, and Flood made a trip to Florida with Panagos the next week to visit Ford's family to ease any concerns.

"I know Marques' family was a little distraught, like, 'I can't believe this happened,'" LaRosa said of the Tennessee situation. "But they were awesome through the process, very patient and they felt a lot more relaxed and very comfortable with the Rutgers staff after Coach Flood and Coach Panagos did their in-home."

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Ford made it official on Feb. 4 when he signed his national letter of intent with Rutgers, becoming the highest-rated recruit Flood has landed in his three years as head coach. Before the 6-foot-4 Ford can make an impact at the collegiate level, he'll need to get bigger.

Ford said he weighed around 220-225 pounds before he reported to Rutgers on June 1. His training was set back by a shoulder surgery in February that sidelined him for two months, but he's 100 percent healthy now.

The Rutgers staff set a target weight of 240 pounds for Ford and LaRosa has no concerns about his former player's ability to bulk up.

"It won't be a problem," LaRosa said. "He's only 17 years old. He's got size 17 shoes. The kid is going to be real big. It's just a matter of (the weight) just coming on. In four years here, Marques didn't miss workouts. The hard work that had to be put in, Marques definitely enjoyed it."

Ford likely dropped some weight before his Rutgers enrollment because he was focused on conditioning and improving his speed. But he was cognizant of the need to add weight, as he brought a refrigerator and microwave to LaRosa's office so he could eat as much as possible.

Ford, who had a 3.3 GPA in high school and plans to study kinesiology, arrived at Rutgers with a humble mindset.

"I'm ready just to get to work and do what I need to do and handle my business first," Ford said. "I have to make sure I can get the size I need to play right away, and if not, I'll master my craft for a year and come in and make an impact."

Whenever Ford gets on the field, expectations will be high for the four-star recruit. LaRosa is confident fans will see there's much more to Ford than what shows up on a recruiting website.

"I understand the whole star rating and all that stuff, but I think that's incredibly overrated because it doesn't tell you anything about the kid except maybe some measurables and maybe what he did at a couple of camps or combines," LaRosa said. "When it comes to work ethic and competitiveness, Marques is a 15-star. That's the one thing I know Rutgers fans will definitely have to look forward to.

"He's an incredible kid of high character and integrity. The stars are physical, and that's only a small part of the game. It's what's underneath that I think everyone is going to be real excited about when they see it because the one thing about Marques is he'll work hard. He takes great pride in his work ethic compared to other people. If he's in a workout with somebody, he's trying to beat them, period."

Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.