After a stint with his rival, Kyle Ford is back at USC with unfinished business (2024)

LOS ANGELES — To be honest, Kyle Ford wasn’t quite sure what to think.

At this time six years ago, Ford was on top of the world. He was a five-star receiver, the rare non-quarterback who was named MVP of The Opening — a camp where the nation’s best talent gathers in one place. He was set for his senior season at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran and the nation’s most high-profile programs were all after him.

Since then, his journey has been filled with twists. Two ACL tears, multiple coaching changes, lack of opportunities, you name it and Ford has seen it. This text from USC receivers coach Dennis Simmons was the latest swerve.

“It was more so, ‘Hey, if you’re interested (we’d) love to finish what we started,’” Simmons recalled on Wednesday. But the situation requires more context.

Ford was a fan favorite during his four years at USC. He was a highly-touted recruit who suffered tough setbacks and found a way to contribute critical plays during the Trojans’ stunning 11-win 2022 campaign. But a week after that season ended, Ford entered the transfer portal in search of an expanded role elsewhere.

A few days later, he committed to crosstown rival UCLA. A frustrating season followed and so did a coaching change after Chip Kelly left Westwood to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. Ford found himself in the portal again this spring.

He hadn’t thought about USC much — until Simmons’ text.

“My first thought was, I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to come back, to be honest,” Ford said. “Then I had some time, thought it through and came to a practice, was checking everything out. It felt good. … I just felt it was the right place to be, to be successful and (it) challenges me the most.”

So here was the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Ford on Wednesday, donned in a Cardinal and Gold jersey, wearing his old No. 81 while sitting inside of Bashor Lounge in Heritage Hall and speaking to local media. The latest plot twist in his career as he returns to the place he never really wanted to leave, searching for a way to contribute as USC dives into the 2024 season.

Ford is entering his sixth season of college football. He estimates his two ACL tears set him back three years, and that’s valid.

He tore the ACL in his right leg a month into his senior season of high school. That forced him to miss the remainder of the season and he spent much of his freshman year at USC recovering and rebuilding his confidence.

Ford caught one pass for 20 yards in 2019 and redshirted. There was buzz within the program about his progress later in that season and he looked more like himself in the spring of 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic brought football to a screeching halt.

In June of that year, Ford tore his ACL again, which kept him out of the shortened season. His first full season came in 2021 when he caught 19 passes for 252 yards and two scores but he still didn’t look like the player he was in high school.

“You can recover but there’s also another step to recover then being yourself again,” Ford said. “Two different things.”

Ford caught five passes for 71 yards in the season finale against Cal that held some meaning for players who looked to impress Lincoln Riley, who took the USC job six days prior.

Riley added several talented players to the Trojans’ receiver unit that offseason — Jordan Addison and Brenden Rice to name a few. So Ford was stuck in a crowded room and there were no guarantees he would have a role.

Ford caught one pass for 20 yards during the first seven games of the 2022 season. Then came a six-catch, 114-yard effort against Arizona, three-reception, 73-yard games against Colorado and UCLA and another long catch-and-run in the Pac-12 title game against Utah.

He found a role, became a starter and finished with a career-high 365 receiving yards despite the slow start. But he wanted more. And after USC lost in the Cotton Bowl, he let Riley know that in an honest conversation.

“I was just looking forward to being the guy, honestly,” Ford said. “I just wanted to be a guy who could contribute, be trusted and be a guy that brings a lot to the team. That is what I’ve always been since my high school days. Obviously, it’s a long time ago but that person’s never changed.”

Ford said he didn’t ever want to leave USC. He loves the school. His house is all USC, he says, blankets and everything. But believed he had to leave to find what he wanted.

“I let him know that,” Ford said. “It was a mutual respect thing and everything was left on good terms.”

It was only 12 plays into the season, but it seemed like Ford found what he was looking for at UCLA. On the Bruins’ second offensive series of their season opener against Coastal Carolina, Ford ran an in-breaking route and hauled in a 15-yard reception. On the very next play, he got open on a wheel route and Ethan Garbers found him for a 24-yard gain.

Two catches for 39 yards a couple of series into the game validated what Ford felt entering the year. The closing stretch in 2022 fully restored his confidence. Ford lost weight and trimmed down. He was quicker and lighter, still fast and strong.

He thought that spring was the best showing he’s ever had in football.

“I was like this (is the) year I’m back to where I was, back to the Kyle Ford that I know,” he said on Wednesday.

It was all coming together — until it didn’t. Ford didn’t catch another pass for the remainder of that game. He didn’t exceed two catches or 39 yards until six games later against Stanford when he caught three passes for 44 yards. His best games produced modest stat lines — four catches for 51 yards against Cal, five receptions for 33 yards and a score against Boise State in the bowl game.

Ford posted fewer receiving yards at UCLA in 2023 (236) than he did at USC in 2022. He was in a less crowded receiver room but the Bruins’ offense was a mess. There was inconsistency at quarterback with freshman Dante Moore, injuries to Garbers and ineffective play from Collin Schlee. Kelly never found a successful formula and the offense suffered, scoring 10 points or less in four games.

Ford believed UCLA had good receivers and good running backs, but in his words, there were just a lot of things going on with the offense.

“We had a lot of pieces and I just felt we were kind of misutilized,” Ford said, “which was really frustrating from the standpoint of where I was at last year, my health (was back on track). … Confidence was high. I was living the right way. It’s just frustrating. To put all that in perspective, I think that was the most frustrating year of football I’ve ever had in my life. When you feel like you have everything right, you work harder than you ever worked and it just doesn’t pan out.

“I’m usually someone who takes accountability. If I think a lot of what I’m doing is wrong, I’ll be the person to tell you, ‘My fault. That was me.’ I don’t know, I have a hard time saying a lot of how I worked was on me. I’m not putting it on anyone else or anything but it was just a tough year for all of us.”

To add more stress to the situation, Kelly left for Ohio State and the portal reopened for UCLA players. Ford went searching for a new opportunity.

Ford tried to soak in everyone’s input through the transfer process. He talked to his mom a lot more this time around and she helped him take into account the mental side of things, which was an emphasis for him.

At one point, he was leaning toward going to Michigan. Then USC re-entered the picture. Ford said the staff didn’t have to show him anything to get him back because he already spent time with them and knew what they were about.

“I remember I told my dad, ‘It just feels right,’” Ford said.

He didn’t fear any potential backlash from the guys in the locker room. Even though Ford left for a rival, he believed he had respect from his teammates because of his workmanlike approach. He wondered whether the fans would welcome him back.

“I was like I hope they rock with me because this is my (alma mater), this is my school that I’ve always grown up loving,” Ford said. “If they’re not fans yet, they’ll be fans during the season.”

The receiver group that Ford left is much different than the one he’s stepping into. For the past two years, USC has been filled with veterans at wideout. This year, it’s four sophom*ores — Zachariah Branch, Duce Robinson, Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon — who are expected to be the most significant contributors.

It’ll be tough to surpass those four in terms of touches. The staff didn’t guarantee Ford anything and he didn’t want them to. All he wanted was an opportunity.

“I know when I get the opportunity that I think I’m supposed to, that I think I deserve, I think I’ve always made the most of it no matter what position I’m put in,” Ford said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to the most right now,trying to earn the respect of my teammates through my work, not through my words.”

Five years ago Ford was part of a quartet of wideouts who were expected to be USC’s future at the position. That group consisted of Drake London, Bru McCoy, Munir McClain and Ford.

At the time of their arrival the Trojans had veterans Michael Pittman Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns. Ford picked their brains and learned from them. Now, even though he’s the older guy in the group, he’s still trying to glean things from the younger players.

“It’s like a new room where you can learn more things,” Ford said. “That’s the way I look at it.”

Training camp and the first few weeks of the season will show what Ford has learned. He provides a much-needed veteran presence for the position group, but it’s unclear what his role will be beyond that.

This much is clear to him right now, though: “I hated wearing that blue, honestly,” he said. “That blue is something I’d never see in my house. I barely even have a Dodgers hat in my house that’s blue.”

(Photo: Stan Szeto / USA Today)

Antonio Morales covers USC football for The Athletic. Previously, he spent three years at the Clarion Ledger in Mississippi, where he covered Ole Miss for two seasons and Jackson State for another. He also spent two years covering preps for the Orange County Register and Torrance Daily Breeze. Follow Antonio on Twitter @AntonioCMorales