He just had a record-setting Louisiana high school football season, rushed for 3,467 yards, 52 touchdowns, and was named Mr. Football by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. But he won't be playing his college football in Louisiana.
We're talking about Leesville running back Xavier Ford, who has turned down offers from Tulane and UL-Monroe, to play at Minnesota.
Over his whole high school career, Ford ran for 8,591 yards and 118 touchdowns. He also caught passes totaling 385 yards and 5 more touchdowns. Lets also mention that Ford did also register some tackles during his career too.
But Ford, according to his 247Sports profile, did not receive an offer from all of the college programs in Louisiana. While he did get offers from Tulane and ULM, 247Sports reports no offer from ULL or LSU. But there's not telling if that would have changed where Ford was going to end up anyway.
When 247Sports talked to Ford about picking the Golden Gophers, he said:
"I've been talking to Minnesota's running back coach Nic Mckissic-Luke since week 5 or so, so since the end of September. They sent someone from their staff out to that game. Coach Nic talked highly about the program and their culture. They are big on personal, character, physical and mental development."
While Ford was named Mr. Football in Louisiana, he actually wasn't the highest rated college recruit.
Ford was given a 3-star rating (out of 5) and was ranked as the 35th best high school prospect in the state.