Tre Ford
| No. 2 Edmonton Elks | |
| Born: | March 30, 1998 Niagara Falls, Ontario |
|---|---|
| Career information | |
| Status | Active |
| CFL status | National |
| Position(s) | QB |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg) |
| University | Waterloo |
| High school | A. N. Myer Secondary (Niagara Falls) |
| CFL draft | 2022, round: 1, pick: 8 |
| Drafted by | Edmonton Elks |
| NFL draft | 2022, undrafted |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 2022–present | Edmonton Elks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Honours | First Team All-Canadian (2021) Second Team All-Canadian (2019) |
| Career stats | |
| Passing completions | 40 |
| Passing attempts | 69 |
| Completion percentage | 60.0 |
| TD–INT | 2-5 |
| Passing yards | 460 |
| |
Tre Ford (born March 30, 1998) is a Canadian football quarterback for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named a Hec Crighton Trophy winner in 2021 as U Sports football's most outstanding player and won the Lois and Doug Mitchell Award as U Sports top male university athlete.
High school career
Ford played quarterback at A. N. Myer Secondary School where he led the Marauders to a Junior Metrobowl championship and three consecutive OFSAA championships.[1]
University career
After being recruited by several U Sports football programs to play at a different position, Ford decided to commit to the Waterloo Warriors after head coach Chris Bertoia confirmed that the team wanted him to continue playing quarterback.[2] In his first season in 2017, he split playing time with the incumbent starting quarterback, Lucas McConnell, and played in seven games where he completed 48 passes out of 72 attempts for 673 yards for six touchdowns and five interceptions.[2] However, he also had 717 rushing yards, which was the 12th highest in the country, and four rushing touchdowns, which resulted in him being named the U Sports Rookie of the Year.[3] After finishing winless in the two seasons previous, Ford helped the Warriors finish with a 4–4 record and a seventh place finish in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference.[2]
In 2018, Ford became the team's starting quarterback where he played in eight regular season games and passed for 2,822 yards, 27 touchdowns, and two interceptions with 74.1 completion percentage, which was the highest in OUA history.[4] The team again finished with a 4–4 record, but qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2003.[5] In the 45–34 OUA quarter-final loss to the Guelph Gryphons, he completed 23 passes out of 32 attempts for 295 yards and three touchdowns and had 11 carries for 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns.[4] At the end of the season, Ford was named the OUA Most Valuable Player.[4]
Ford continued his strong play in the 2019 season as he again started in all eight regular season games where he passed for 2,158 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.[6] He also rushed for 634 yards and six touchdowns as the Warriors finished with another 4–4 record.[6] In the playoffs, Ford led the Warriors to the team's first post-season victory since 1999 as the Warriors defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees by a score of 44–21.[7] However, the Warriors fell to the Mustangs in the OUA Semi-Final 30–24 after Ford had 226 yards passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions (including one that was returned for a touchdown) along with 72 rushing yards.[8] For his outstanding season, Ford was named a U Sports Second Team All-Canadian.[9]
With the 2020 U Sports football season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, Ford elected to defer his CFL Draft eligibility by one year to 2022 and returned to play for the Warriors in 2021.[10] In just six regular season games, he completed 118 passes out of 186 attempts for 1,465 yards with 10 passing touchdowns and four interceptions and led the OUA in passing yards.[11] He was also fourth in the country in rushing yards per game as he had 59 carries for 629 yards and three touchdowns.[6][12] At the end of the season, he became the first Warriors player to win the Hec Crighton Trophy as the most outstanding football player in U Sports and was named a U Sports First Team All-Canadian.[12] He was also the first Waterloo player to win the Lois and Doug Mitchell Award as U Sports top male university athlete for the 2021–22 season.[13]
Despite having one more year of playing eligibility, Ford stated that his intention was to play professionally in 2022.[14]
U Sports statistics
| Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | GD | Att | Comp | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Att | Yards | Avg | Long | TD | ||
| 2017 | WAT | 6 | 56 | 37 | 66.1 | 531 | 4 | 4 | 62 | 548 | 8.8 | 31 | 4 | ||
| 2018 | WAT | 9 | 294 | 217 | 73.8 | 3,093 | 30 | 2 | 85 | 771 | 9.1 | 39 | 4 | ||
| 2019 | WAT | 10 | 294 | 204 | 69.4 | 2,609 | 18 | 10 | 97 | 830 | 8.6 | 61 | 8 | ||
| 2020 | WAT | Season cancelled due to Covid-19 | Season cancelled due to Covid-19 | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | WAT | 7 | 219 | 139 | 63.5 | 1,770 | 12 | 6 | 66 | 667 | 10.1 | 44 | 3 | ||
| U Sports totals | 32 | 863 | 597 | 69.2 | 8,003 | 64 | 22 | 310 | 2,816 | 9.1 | 61 | 19 | |||
Professional career
Pre-draft process
Ford was ranked as the fourth best player in the Canadian Football League's Amateur Scouting Bureau final rankings for players eligible in the 2022 CFL Draft, and first by players in U Sports.[16] Due to his strong testing numbers at the University of Buffalo pro day where his 40-yard dash time of 4.45 was the best of any 2022 NFL Draft-eligible quarterback, there was also speculation that Ford would be signed by a National Football League team.[17] While he was undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and was not signed by an NFL team, he received mini-camp invites from the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants.[18]
Edmonton Elks
Ford was then drafted in the first round (8th overall) by the Edmonton Elks in the 2022 CFL Draft.[19] On May 11, 2022, it was announced that Ford had signed with the Elks.[20] With the Elks struggling to start the season (0-3), head coach Chris Jones announced that Ford would replace veteran Nick Arbuckle for the team's fourth game of the season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[21] Ford managed to lead the Elks to a narrow win, completing 15 of 26 passes for 159 yards with one touchdown and one interception.[22] He also carried the ball six times gaining 61 yards on the ground.[23] In his second career start Ford suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter and was forced to leave the game.[24] The following day it was announced that he would miss multiple weeks with a collarbone injury.[25] In mid-September Edmonton Elks head coach Chris Jones confirmed that Tre Ford would return to the active lineup for the team's Week 15 matchup, with Taylor Cornelius remaining as the starter.[26]
Personal life
Ford married his long-time fiancé, Anika Nadeau, June 13, 2022. Ford has a twin brother, Tyrell Ford, who plays defensive back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and also played for the Waterloo Warriors.[1] He began playing football when he was six years old when his father, Robert, introduced him to the sport and also served as his coach.[1][27]
References
- ^ a b c "Niagara Falls native Tre Ford continues to impress". The Niagara Independent. May 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c "In appreciation of Tre Ford: MVP, quarterback, and trailblazer". U Sports. November 30, 2021.
- ^ "Tre Ford retroactively awarded U Sports Rookie of the Year". Waterloo Warriors. June 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Waterloo's Ford is MVP, Jack Hinsperger is OUA's top football rookie". Waterloo Region Record. November 8, 2018.
- ^ "U Sports football standings". U Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Men's football statistics". U Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ Desaulniers, Darren (October 26, 2019). "Gee-Gees lose momentum, and then the game, to Warriors". Ottawa Sun.
- ^ "Warriors see season end in narrow semifinal loss". Waterloo Warriors. November 2, 2019.
- ^ "Western QB Merchant highlights 2019 award winners and all-Canadians". U Sports. November 21, 2019.
- ^ "Twin brothers from Niagara Falls taking another shot at Vanier Cup". St. Catharines Standard. December 7, 2020.
- ^ "Hec of a Player! Tre Ford claims 2021 Hec Crighton Trophy as U Sports Most Outstanding Player". Waterloo Warriors. December 2, 2021.
- ^ a b "Waterloo QB Tre Ford wins historic Hec Crighton Award as U Sports' top football player". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 2, 2021.
- ^ "Waterloo's Ford, de Goede of Queen's capture 2022 Lois and Doug Mitchell U Sports Athletes of the Year Awards Presented by Makadiff Sports". U Sports. May 25, 2022.
- ^ "Tre Ford named 2021 U Sports Player of the Year". Imprint. December 2, 2021.
- ^ "Tre Ford". Waterloo Warriors. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ "Metchie leaps to top-spot in final Scouting Bureau of 2022". Canadian Football League. April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "Niagara Falls quarterback may get NFL audition — report". insauga.com. March 17, 2022.
- ^ "Canadian QB Tre Ford invited to New York Giants rookie mini-camp". 3DownNation. May 2, 2022.
- ^ "Elks take QB Tre Ford with Eighth Overall Pick". Canadian Football League. May 3, 2022.
- ^ "Transactions | Elks sign 2022 draft class". Edmonton Elks. May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Elks list Canadian rookie QB Tre Ford as starter vs. Tiger-Cats". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
- ^ Press, The Canadian (2022-07-01). "Late fumble costs Tiger-Cats in Elks win on Canada Day - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
- ^ "Elks Rookie QB Ford Turns July 1 into Tre Day". Edmonton Elks. 2022-07-02. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
- ^ TSN ca Staff (2022-07-08). "Elks' Ford leaves game early vs. Stampeders - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
- ^ TSN ca Staff (2022-07-08). "Elks QB Ford expected to miss multiple weeks with injury - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
- ^ TSN ca Staff (2022-09-13). "Elks QB Ford will be active against Riders - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ^ "Getting to know the national combine participants". Canadian Football League. March 23, 2022.