Josh Ford never felt forced to return after breaking his left arm against Mississippi State. The Alabama football tight end never felt forced to play against Georgia either. Both were his decision, a decision he never thought twice about.
“I had to finish,” Ford said. “I told them I was going to play no matter what.”
To Ford, it’s evidence of the player and the person he wants to be as he continues to recover.
“I had surgery six days before the game,” Ford said Tuesday, Oct. 13. “I mean, I truly believe the Lord was in the operating room with me because I had 85% of my grip strength back after six days, like really good mobility and stuff, and I was already practicing.”
In the first half of Alabama‘s 56-23 road win against MSU, Ford said he was a half-second late off the ball on a down block. Left guard William Sanders came in to help and Ford’s arm was caught between Sanders’ and the defender’s helmet, snapping his radius in half.
“They hard casted it, put hard tape,” Ford said after seeing a clear break from a halftime X-ray. “I think I took a couple more pills and I got back in the game.”
Ford had surgery the next day. Days later, Ford was in the training room doing 20 push-ups. And on Saturday in Alabama’s 20-17 loss to Georgia, he played 24 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
Ford is still recovering, he said, wearing a carbon fiber plate in his cast, saying it’s “definitely different than what I was used to” to wear and it’s “a weapon for sure.” But Ford said. he wanted to be out there, showcasing his ability to be a leader, to be an encourager, to hype the team up and to point to something bigger than himself.
“The only reason I could go out there was because I really felt the Lord touched me during the week,” Ford said.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Why Josh Ford wanted to play for Alabama football with broken arm
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