Ford top choice among locals

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002 | 10:25 a.m.

It has been a season of near misses for running back John Ford.

First, his Foothill High School squad lost to Reno's McQueen in the state 4-A semifinals, thanks in large part to a 57-yard McQueen field goal in the snow that hit the crossbar and bounced over. And now the powerful 6-foot-2, 220-pound running back, who transferred to the Henderson high school for his senior year after starring at Littlerock High School in Palmdale, Calif., has come within one point of garnering second-team Super 11 honors.

Ford tallied 15 points to tie for 23rd place with Fresno (Calif.) Edison star Aaron Miller in the balloting of college coaches and recruiting experts. Massive offensive tackle Keith Jackson (6-6, 300) of Inglewood (Calif.) High School had 16 points to lock up the final second-team spot.

Still, Ford, rated the nation's 68th-best prospect by Tom Lemming of ESPN.com, can take pride he was the top-rated prospect in Nevada this year. Along with Las Vegas High running back Antoine White (1 vote), he was one of only two players in the state to merit consideration from the panel.

"He's a helluva player," said one Pac-10 coach who saw Ford play a lot as a junior. "He's a big, powerful runner. If he had grades, he would have been one of the most highly recruited running backs in the nation."

Ford, who rushed for 2,026 yards on 271 carries and scored 32 touchdowns despite missing two games with a back injury, said this week he may have to attend junior college because he has yet to meet the NCAA's minimum freshmen eligibility requirements. He has yet to take one of the two standardized tests (SAT or ACT) needed for NCAA guidelines and could also struggle to meet core class minimums.

Ford verbally committed to UNLV last summer but is not expected to sign a letter of intent with the school on Wednesday, the first day of the national signing period.

White, who picked up Sun state offensive and player of the year honors while leading Las Vegas High School to the 4-A title, will also likely attend junior college next fall.

"He would have been a big-time recruit (with better academics)," said one coach. "I'm not sure he's not a better all-around player than Ford."

Former Cheyenne High star Lynn McGruder, who recently enrolled at Oklahoma after initially attending Tennessee, is the only Nevada player to make the Sun's Super 11 first team in its four-year history. Eldorado running back Steven Jackson, who worked his way into the starting lineup at Oregon State as a true freshman, was a second-team pick last year.