Tre Ford

Ford played quarterback at A. N. Myer Secondary School where he led the Marauders to three consecutive championships.[1]

After being recruited by several U Sports football programs to play at a different position, Ford decided to commit to the Waterloo Warriors after head coach Chris Bertoia confirmed that the team wanted him to continue playing quarterback.[2] In his first season in 2017, he split playing time with the incumbent starting quarterback, Lucas McConnell, and played in seven games where he completed 48 passes out of 72 attempts for 673 yards for six touchdowns and five interceptions.[2] However, he also had 717 rushing yards, which was the 12th highest in the country, and four rushing touchdowns, which resulted in him being named the U Sports Rookie of the Year.[3] After finishing winless in the two seasons previous, Ford helped the Warriors finish with a 4–4 record and a seventh place finish in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference.[2]

In 2018, Ford became the team's starting quarterback where he played in eight regular season games and passed for 2,822 yards, 27 touchdowns, and two interceptions with 74.1 completion percentage, which was the highest in OUA history.[4] The team again finished with a 4–4 record, but qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2003.[5] In the 45–34 OUA quarter-final loss to the Guelph Gryphons, he completed 23 passes out of 32 attempts for 295 yards and three touchdowns and had 11 carries for 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns.[4] At the end of the season, Ford was named the OUA Most Valuable Player.[4]

Ford continued his strong play in the 2019 season as he again started in all eight regular season games where he passed for 2,158 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.[6] He also rushed for 634 yards and six touchdowns as the Warriors finished with another 4–4 record.[6] In the playoffs, Ford led the Warriors to the team's first post-season victory since 1999 as the Warriors defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees by a score of 44–21.[7] However, the Warriors fell to the Mustangs in the OUA Semi-Final 30–24 after Ford had 226 yards passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions (including one that was returned for a touchdown) along with 72 rushing yards.[8] For his outstanding season, Ford was named a U Sports Second Team All-Canadian.[9]

With the 2020 U Sports football season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, Ford elected to defer his CFL Draft eligibility by one year to 2022 and returned to play for the Warriors in 2021.[10] In just six regular season games, he completed 118 passes out of 186 attempts for 1,465 yards with 10 passing touchdowns and four interceptions and led the OUA in passing yards.[11] He was also fourth in the country in rushing yards per game as he had 59 carries for 629 yards and three touchdowns.[6][12] At the end of the season, he became the first Warriors player to win the Hec Crighton Trophy as the most outstanding football player in U Sports and was named a U Sports First Team All-Canadian.[12]

Despite having one more year of playing eligibility, Ford stated that his intention was to play professionally in 2022.[13]

Ford was ranked as the fourth best player in the Canadian Football League's Amateur Scouting Bureau final rankings for players eligible in the 2022 CFL Draft, and first by players in U Sports.[14] Due to his strong testing numbers at the University of Buffalo pro day where his 40-yard dash time of 4.45 was the highest of any 2022 NFL Draft-eligible quarterback, there was also speculation that Ford would be signed by a National Football League team.[15]

Ford has a twin brother, Tyrell, who plays defensive back and also played for the Waterloo Warriors.[1] He began playing football when he was six years old when his father, Robert, introduced him to the sport and also served as his coach.[1][16]

• Waterloo Warriors bio