A University of Alabama redshirt freshman running back is in the transfer portal.
Jerome Ford is in the transfer portal, as first reported by AL.com, after running 24 times for 114 yards and three touchdowns in 2019. Ten of those carries and one of those touchdowns came in the Duke game, when UA had running backs Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. suspended for the early portion of the game.
Ford was likely to have an uphill battle to playing time in 2020. Even if Harris does not return, UA still returns the two running backs ahead of Ford (Robinson Jr. and Keilan Robinson) on top of a freshman class with three running backs: Jase McClellan, Roydell Williams and Kyle Edwards.
Ford used the four-game redshirt rule in 2018, playing against Louisville, Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Louisiana-Lafayette. He ran a total of seven times for 37 yards.
His 10 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown against Duke is the best performance of his UA career. He had one five-yard carry against New Mexico State the next week, eight carries for 21 yards against Southern Miss and five carries for 24 yards against Western Carolina.
Ford came to UA as a four-star running back from Armwood High School in Seffner, Florida. Ford seriously considered USF before picking UA; Seffner is 16 miles east of Tampa, where USF is located.
