Keith Ford

American football player (born 1994)
American football player
Keith Ford
refer to caption
Ford with Texas A&M in 2017
Personal information
Born: (1994-04-18) April 18, 1994 (age 30)
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
  • Buffalo Bills (2018)
  • Indianapolis Colts (2019)*
  • Green Bay Packers (2019)*
  • St. Louis BattleHawks (2020)
  • Arlington Renegades (2023)
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Rushing attempts:21
Rushing yards:79
Receptions:3
Receiving yards:21
Total touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Keith Ford (born April 18, 1994) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma and Texas A&M. 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.

Early life and high school

Growing 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

Oklahoma

As 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

After 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

Buffalo Bills

Ford 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

Ford was signed by the Indianapolis Colts on July 28, 2019.[17] He was waived on August 5, 2019.[18]

Green Bay Packers

On 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

Ford 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

Ford was selected by the Arlington Renegades in the 2023 XFL Draft.[24]

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Eberts, Wescott (February 6, 2013). "Keith Ford signs with Oklahoma". SB Nation. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  3. ^ "Keith Ford 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  4. ^ Hinnen, Jerry (May 22, 2015). "Ex-Oklahoma RB Keith Ford says he will transfer to Texas A&M". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "Keith Ford 2016 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  7. ^ "Keith Ford 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  8. ^ "Ford Signs Free Agent Deal With Bills". KBTX.com. KBTX-TV. April 30, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Deaver, Colin (April 30, 2018). "Ford signs undrafted free agent deal with Bills". KAGSTV.com. KAGS-LD. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Bills add Keith Ford, Dean Marlowe to 53-man roster". The Buffalo News. December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Bills' McCoy has rocky return on and off field". WHEC.com. Associated Press. December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  15. ^ "Keith Ford 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  16. ^ Brown, Chris (May 13, 2019). "Bills sign four tryout players from rookie minicamp". BuffaloBills.com.
  17. ^ Hickey, Kevin (July 28, 2019). "Colts sign RB Keith Ford". Colts Wire.
  18. ^ "Colts Claim RB D'Onta Foreman Off Waivers". Colts.com. August 5, 2019.
  19. ^ "Packers claim RB Keith Ford off waivers". Packers.com. August 6, 2019. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  20. ^ "Packers announce roster moves". packers.com. August 31, 2019.
  21. ^ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  22. ^ "Keith Ford-RB-STL". stats.xfl.com. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ ESPN STAFF (November 18, 2022). "XFL draft results for 2023: Picks, full rosters for every team". ESPN.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Keith Ford.
  • Oklahoma Sooners bio
  • Texas A&M Aggies bio