Tyson Ford has been recruited by some of the best college football programs in the nation.
A 6-foot-6 and 245-pound senior defensive end for the John Burroughs football team, Ford gave Notre Dame a verbal commitment in January. After he pledged to the Fighting Irish, he received scholarship offers from Clemson and LSU.
Those pitches, however, fell on deaf ears.
“I haven’t been entertaining them,” Ford said. “I’m fully committed to Notre Dame.”
But the football team that did the best job recruiting Ford wasn’t a college.
“I was going to focus on basketball,” Ford said. “Football would be a distraction.”
The Burroughs football staff kept working Ford and his family and kept getting turned away. It was hard sell, and persistence won. After a month of making their case, Ford and his family had a long talk and decided they’d give it a go.
“We decided to play both (football and basketball),” Ford said. “Football just took off.”
Ford, 17, went from giving up the game to becoming the best possible football player he could be, regardless of the sacrifice. He dropped 25 pounds in the offseason by restructuring his diet and running 5Ks, something he never imagined he would do.
“I was never a runner,” Ford said. “I was the slowest guy on the (basketball) team. It was hard for the first two weeks. Then it just became easier.”
Music played a key role for Ford. He’d get up in the morning, turn on his tunes and head out the door to get that day’s run out of the way.
“If I didn’t have music I wouldn’t have gotten up in the morning,” he said.
When it was time to eat Ford gave up some of his favorites in the name of fitness. He cut out croissants, grilled cheese and roast beef sandwiches. His dairy intake was drastically reduced as he skipped the cow’s milk in his cereal, shunned yogurt and cheese.
He usually ate six meals a day that featured plenty of lean meats and enough leafy greens to feed a fluffle of rabbits.
“I had a lot of salad,” Ford said. “So much salad.”
The changes worked. Ford said his body fat is around 15 percent. Even as he ran and switched up his diet he continued to power through vigorous workouts in the weight room. He’s bigger, stronger and faster than he’s ever been. He’s also refined his position-specific skills. In the past Ford may have relied on his physical attributes to get him over. Now he’s more experienced and savvy on the field.
“His technique is so much better. He’s a much more polished defensive player now,” Burroughs coach John Merritt said. “He’s going to play faster. As a sophomore he’d sometimes run himself out of plays. He won’t do that anymore. He’s going to be devastating.”
Ford never really got to showcase what he could do as a junior. Due to restrictions put in place by the St. Louis County Department of Public Health to curb the spread of COVID-19 last fall, Burroughs played just five games. Ford had 19 tackles, two tackles for loss and three sacks.
An All-American Bowl selection, Ford wanted to not only get into the best shape of his young life this summer, he sought out the best competition to gauge his own development. After nearly all camps and combines were shuttered in the summer of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, he took advantage of his opportunities this summer.
“When I went to the camps I wanted to work on some things,” Ford said. “I got a feel for the difference between Missouri high school football and the rest of the country. It made me a better player.”
Ford is hopeful that Burroughs will live up to its historical legacy as one of the most accomplished football programs in the area and the state. The Bombers have won nine state championships, the same number as Rockhurst and two more than rival MICDS.
Burroughs’s last title came in 2015 and Ford would like to change that before he graduates after the fall semester and enrolls early at Notre Dame.
“I think this is the year where we get back to where we used to be,” Ford said. “I really think we have the ability to do that.”
2021-22 Post-Dispatch Super 30
2021-22 Post-Dispatch Super 30 preseason countdown
No. 1: Luther Burden, WR, East St. Louis
No. 2: Kevin Coleman, WR, St. Mary’s
No. 3: Toriano Pride, DB, East St. Louis
No. 4: Tyson Ford, DE, John Burroughs
No. 5: Ja’Marion Wayne, ATH, Parkway West
No. 6: Marquis Gracial, DL, St. Charles
No. 7: Isaac Thompson, DB, St. Louis U. High
No. 8: Arlen Harris Jr., RB, Lutheran St. Charles
No. 9: Caldra Williford, DB, Lutheran North
No. 10: Kaian Roberts-Day, ATH, Festus
No. 11: Cameron Epps, DB, Chaminade
No. 12: Ali Wells, RB, East St. Louis
No. 13: Kaleb Purdy, DB, De Smet
No. 14: Ahmad Robinson, DB, East St. Louis
No. 15: De’Shawn Fuller, DB, St. Mary’s
No. 16: Jaylen Banks, DL, Lutheran North
No. 17: Chris Brooks Jr., WR, St. Louis U. High
No. 18: Ashtin Rustemeyer, DL, Lutheran St. Charles
Tyson Ford of John Burroughs (right) catches quarterback Aiden Louis of Clayton for a loss on Saturday, October 17, 2020 in Ladue, Missouri. Paul Baillargeon, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com