Despite being the first non Power Five program to make the College Football Playoff, Cincinnati will be trotting out a face Alabama knows well.
Bearcats running back Jerome Ford began his career as a member of the Crimson Tide back in 2018 where he was a four-star recruit out of Armwood High school in Seffner, Fla. Ford ended up entering the transfer portal during the 2019 season where he appeared in eight games across his two seasons and rushed for a total of 151 yards and three touchdowns.
Earlier this week a few of Ford’s former teammates talked about how they remembered the former member of the Crimson Tide backfield.
“Jerome, he’s one of those guys who he works his butt off,” running back Brian Robinson said on Thursday. “A fast guy, physical guy, he knows how to finish plays well. It’s exciting being able to play against Jerome on the other side of the ball on one of the biggest stages. I’m excited to see how he handles that with being at another program and me being in the same program that he started in. That’s an exciting matchup. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.”
Defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis also shared his thoughts on Ford.
“Jerome was a great young cat for me around here,” Mathis said on Thursday. “I always liked Jerome, and he always ran hard. He ran that ball pretty good. He still does. I know we’re gonna have to stop the run when it comes down to him running that ball.”
Since leaving Alabama, Ford has thrived in his situation at Cincinnati. Over the past two seasons, he has been the team’s best running back and helped Luke Fickell’s team reach an overall record of 22-1 across the in Ford’s two seasons with the Bearcats.
In 2019, Ford carried the ball 73 times for 483 yards and eight touchdowns in the 10 game season. This year, Ford has seen his playing time increase and as the starting running back has amassed 200 carries for 1238 yards and 19 touchdowns during Cincinnati’s undefeated season.
“I’m super excited for him,” Robinson said. “He came here — it might not have turned out how he wanted it to turn out for him and he had to make a decision for himself and his family. he left and he joined a program that was upcoming and just helped build onto that program and helped lead them to where they are now.
“I’m just so proud of the progress he’s made with joining another program and making it to this point.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
