Ben Ford: Built Ford Tough
Redshirt senior wide receiver has become a breakout star to begin the season, after battling back from nearly two missed seasons
Chris Kutz
The slogan not only writes itself, it fits naturally.
Boise State wide receiver Ben Ford has heard it plenty of times already. He shares a surname with an auto brand that is a staple of Americana. The auto brand has also used a slogan for its F-Series truck for more than two decades before he was even born.
But what some may not know is the connection goes beyond the obvious. The redshirt senior lives it.
Built Ford Tough.
Ford arrived on Boise State’s campus in the fall of 2021. He did not have to move far as he grew up in nearby Eagle, which is about 30 minutes from campus.
A 5-11, 185-pound athlete, Ford originally committed to playing baseball at Washington out of high school before a last-minute offer from Boise State football changed his decision - and future. He also started playing receiver for the first time, which led to him using his true freshman season as a redshirt year.
In 2022, he began the season with a promising start. He made his Boise State debut in week two at New Mexico, seeing the field all on special teams. In week six, he played on The Blue for the first time as he logged a handful of snaps at wide receiver in a 20-point win over Fresno State.
However, the season took a turn for the worse. During a normal practice week, he suffered a torn ACL. His redshirt freshman season was over.
Ford underwent surgery a couple weeks after the injury, but the rehab process did not go according to plan. Setback after setback resulted in another surgery during the fall of 2023. His third season as a Bronco never got started as he had to miss the entire 2023 campaign.
For the 2020-21 Gatorade Idaho Football Player of the Year, the initial injury was not a new experience. He had suffered a similar injury in his other knee in high school. He rehabbed and got back on the field to play quarterback and safety as a senior. He rushed for 1,056 yards and passed for another 977 during his senior year and totaled 26 touchdowns. He also maintained a high GPA (3.68) and was an active volunteer with youth baseball and football programs.
This time, though, as a college student, the experience was completely different.
“It was incredibly difficult, and (the knee) never felt right,” said Ford when reflecting back to his rehab experience in 2023. “And then hearing that I had to get another surgery definitely took some wind out of my sails. I was definitely down on it for a while… I never thought about quitting or anything. I just thought about, ‘How am I going to do it? How am I going to get back?'”
The three-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete did get back on the field - and with an even bigger role. As a redshirt junior in 2024, he played in 11 games, including one start. In his first collegiate game in nearly two years, he recorded his first career catch at Georgia Southern in the season opener. He continued to see time at special teams, but his spot on the offense grew. He finished the season with four catches for 34 yards, including one reception in the CFP Quarterfinal at the Fiesta Bowl against Penn State.
“We had a lot of talented dudes last year in the receiver room, and I hadn't really proven myself enough to be on the field a ton, but I had done enough to where I'd get in at some points and have small packages,” said Ford about the 2024 season. “I felt really good to be out there, getting back from (the injury) and having a little more confidence of actually playing live football again.”
Fueled by toughness and confidence, Ford used this past offseason to make the next jump in his development. He was the talk of fall camp as a breakout star, but the outcome was a result of his work well prior to that.
“I think the way I approached this year was a lot different as far as just what I wanted to get out of it for myself and what I wanted to put into it for this team,” said Ford. “Every day, I did something to get better, whether it was a small thing, or whether it was doing receivers drills, stuff that would make me a more well-groomed receiver and be able to contribute on offense. The biggest difference was the grind that I definitely had put in from the last season ending, and looking forward into this fall and being like, ‘I can contribute on the team.’”
He worked outside of practice hours. He threw with starting quarterback Maddux Madsen and the rest of the quarterbacks on the team with route-running, catching balls, and footwork technique. He also worked with Sean Modster, a former all-conference wide receiver for Boise State from 2014 to 2018 who went on to see some time in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.
The result of the work has paid off so far. Ford, who watched a lot of Boise State football growing up and would occasionally go to games when he was in middle school, is currently second on the team in receptions and receiving yards. He leads the Broncos with two receiving touchdowns, both of which were caught in the 51-14 win over Eastern Washington this past Saturday. His parents and three younger siblings were among the sold-out crowd at Albertsons Stadium to see him become one of the stars of the show.
“Talk about a guy who has been through the ringer at Boise State when it comes to injuries,” said Boise State head football coach Spencer Danielson after the Eastern Washington victory. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ben Ford not with the right mentality, in regards to how he comes to meetings, how he goes to practices, how he loves his teammates. You talk about, ‘team is greater than me.’ Ben Ford is a perfect example (of that).”
Ford has made a name for itself so far this season, beyond the last name shared with an auto company. The kid out of Treasure Valley only had football offers from Army, Idaho and Idaho State while at Eagle High School before a late recruiting effort from current wide receivers coach and Bronco great Matt Miller helped make him a Bronco. He had to relearn football slightly when he switched to wide receiver as a freshman, learning from the likes of Khalil Shakir, Stefan Cobbs, Octavius Evans, among others. Simple things as a receiver, such as changing tempos and route-running, were all new to the former quarterback.
His growth from being a local freshman to established veteran has been impacted by all of those within the program over the years.
“Coming in as a freshman, you know, Boise State wins football games,” said Ford when asked about his growth. “You know that they have a great program here. But to really be here and grow really into a man here, you see the time and the effort that everybody in this building puts into us being great and us having this amazing culture. It takes really everyone in this building to make this building go and everybody does such an amazing job. I have such a respect for everybody that is here now and has been here and has withheld this standard all this time.”
And despite the changes and adversity, Ford has remained driven - and become one of the most reliable receivers on the team.
“It’s funny how it always works,” said Danielson. “The guys that care about the team end up getting a lot of individual accolades, and that’s why I could not be more excited for Ben Ford. He’s earned every bit of it.”