Bearcats Add Alabama RB From Transfer Portal

On Tuesday night, former Alabama running back Jerome Ford announced his decision to transfer to the University of Cincinnati.

Ford, a 4-star prospect from Tampa, Florida, was a part of Alabama’s 2018 recruiting class. According to 247Sports, he was the #370 player nationally, #66 in Florida, and #12 RB. At the time, he chose Alabama over Tennessee, UNC, and Nebraska.

Ford has played 8 total games - 4 in 2018 and 4 in 2019, while redshirting in 2018 to maintain his eligibility as a freshman in 2019. He carried the ball just 7 times in 2018, playing sparingly on special teams.

This season, he appeared in all four of Alabama’s non-conference games - Duke, New Mexico State, Southern Miss, Western Carolina. He scored a touchdown in 3 of his 4 games played (albeit in garbage time). In total, in 2019 he carried the ball 24 times, for 114 yards.

Ford closed out the game against Duke with 10 carries for 64 yards. He also caught 2 passes, the only 2 catches of his career thus far. He also ran for 21 yards on 8 carries against Southern Miss.

Due to NCAA transfer rules, Ford will likely have to sit out in 2020, though he could file a waiver and receive immediate eligibility, which is to be determined and also completely random if it’s possible.

If he can play in 2020, he would help fill the massive void left by Michael Warren and serve as a backup to Gerrid Doaks and Charles McClelland. If he sits and waits his turn until 2021, Doaks will be gone, leaving McClelland, Ryan Montgomery, Ethan Wright, and Ford as the only viable options (though perhaps a local Cincinnati high school prospect wants to change that?).

Regardless, it’s encouraging to see a player who was good enough for Alabama opt to continue his career at Cincinnati, especially at a position of need.