Keith Ford (born April 18, 1994) is an American professional football running back who is a free agent. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas A&M Aggies. He was originally signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2018, and was also a member of the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers.
 Ford with Texas A&M in 2017 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
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| Born: | April 18, 1994 Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 219 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Cypress Ranch (Cypress, Texas) | ||||||||||
| College: | Texas A&M | ||||||||||
| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Early life and high school
editGrowing up, Ford's family moved often as his father, Keith Ford Sr., served in the United States Marine Corps. This included a seven-year stay in Okinawa, Japan until his father retired and the family moved to Cypress, Texas. Ford attended Cypress Ranch High School, where he played football, basketball, and ran track.[1] As a senior, Ford rushed for 1,868 yards on 280 carries, scoring 24 touchdowns and participated in the Under Armour All-America Game. Ford led his Mustang team to a regional final playoff appearance, where they were defeated by the eventual state champion, Katy High School, by a score of 70-21. A five-star recruit, he was the third-ranked running back prospect in the nation and ultimately committed to the University of Oklahoma.[2]
College career
editOklahoma
editAs a freshman Ford appeared in ten games, rushing for 134 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries.[1] He rushed 71 times for 392 yards (third most on the team) and scored six total touchdowns in eight games as a sophomore, but lost his starting job to true freshman Samaje Perine while out due to injury.[3] Ford was suspended indefinitely from the football team due to academic and team rules violations.[4] Nine days later, Ford announced that he would be transferring and ultimately decided to move on to Texas A&M.[5]
Texas A&M
editAfter sitting out one season due to NCAA transfer rules, Ford was the Aggies second-leading rusher with 669 yards as a redshirt junior.[6] As a senior, he rushed for 548 yards and led the team with 12 rushing touchdowns.[7][8] Over the course of his collegiate career, Ford rushed for 1,743 yards on 359 carries (4.9 yards per carry) and 24 touchdowns in 44 games.[9]
Professional career
editBuffalo Bills
editFord signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2018.[10] He was cut by the Bills at the end of the preseason and subsequently re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 2, 2018.[11] Ford was promoted to the Bills' active roster on December 12, 2018 after an injury to starting running back LeSean McCoy.[12]
Ford made his NFL debut on December 16, 2018 in a 14–13 win against the Detroit Lions, rushing for a team-high 46 yards on 14 carries and catching a pass for seven yards.[13] He made his first career start the next week on December 23, 2018 in a 24–12 loss to the New England Patriots, again leading the team in rushing with 33 yards on seven carries and catching two passes for 14 yards.[14] As a rookie, Ford appeared in two games (one start) with 79 yards rushing on 21 carries and three receptions for 21 yards.[15]
On May 13, 2019, Ford was waived by the Bills.[16]
Indianapolis Colts
editFord was signed by the Indianapolis Colts on July 28, 2019.[17] He was waived on August 5, 2019.[18]
Green Bay Packers
editOn August 6, 2019, Ford was claimed off waivers by the Green Bay Packers.[19] He was released on August 31, 2019.[20]
St. Louis BattleHawks
editFord signed with the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL on January 9, 2020.[21] Ford rushed ten times for 52 yards and two touchdowns before the 2020 XFL season was cancelled following growing concerns about the COVID-19 virus.[22] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[23]
Arlington Renegades
editFord was selected by the Arlington Renegades in the 2023 XFL Draft.[24]
References
edit- ^ a b Shurski, Jay (June 22, 2018). "Inside the Bills: Memory of three friends taken by gun violence inspires Keith Ford". The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ Eberts, Wescott (February 6, 2013). "Keith Ford signs with Oklahoma". SB Nation. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ "Keith Ford 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ Hinnen, Jerry (May 22, 2015). "Ex-Oklahoma RB Keith Ford says he will transfer to Texas A&M". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ Zwerneman, Brent (May 22, 2015). "Former Cy Ranch standout Keith Ford says he's transferring to Texas A&M from OU". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ "Keith Ford 2016 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ "Keith Ford 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ "Ford Signs Free Agent Deal With Bills". KBTX.com. KBTX-TV. April 30, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ Courtney, Mitchell (August 28, 2018). "5 under-the-radar stories to know for the final week of the Bills preseason". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
- ^ Deaver, Colin (April 30, 2018). "Ford signs undrafted free agent deal with Bills". KAGSTV.com. KAGS-LD. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
- ^ Capaccio, Sal (September 2, 2018). "Bills sign eight to practice squad, claim two off waivers, and release Schmidt". WGR550.Radio.com. WGR. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
- ^ "Bills add Keith Ford, Dean Marlowe to 53-man roster". The Buffalo News. December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
- ^ Maiorana, Sal (December 16, 2018). "Buffalo Bills report card: Josh Allen pulls off a victory with his arm. Maybe he's getting it?". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ "Bills' McCoy has rocky return on and off field". WHEC.com. Associated Press. December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- ^ "Keith Ford 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ Brown, Chris (May 13, 2019). "Bills sign four tryout players from rookie minicamp". BuffaloBills.com.
- ^ Hickey, Kevin (July 28, 2019). "Colts sign RB Keith Ford". Colts Wire.
- ^ "Colts Claim RB D'Onta Foreman Off Waivers". Colts.com. August 5, 2019.
- ^ "Packers claim RB Keith Ford off waivers". Packers.com. August 6, 2019. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
- ^ "Packers announce roster moves". packers.com. August 31, 2019.
- ^ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ "Keith Ford-RB-STL". stats.xfl.com. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ ESPN STAFF (November 18, 2022). "XFL draft results for 2023: Picks, full rosters for every team". ESPN.