There are football stories about touchdowns, rankings and Saturday-night wins.
And then there are stories about simply finding a way back onto the field.
For Ben Ford, the Eagle, Idaho native preparing for his sixth season with Boise State, the road back has been longer than most.
Ford, a wide receiver wearing No. 82 for the Broncos, returned to practice in August after suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2025. It marked his third ACL injury in six years — the kind of setback that could have easily ended a college football career. Instead, Ford is working toward another comeback and a chance to finish his Boise State career on his own terms.
And for Treasure Valley football fans, this one hits especially close to home.
From Eagle High to the Blue
Long before Ford was catching passes at Albertsons Stadium, he was one of Idaho’s most dynamic high school athletes.
At Eagle High School, Ford played quarterback and became the 2020 Idaho High School Player of the Year. During his senior season, he rushed for 1,056 yards, passed for 977 more and accounted for 26 touchdowns. He was also an accomplished baseball player with multiple opportunities to play Division I baseball.
In fact, Ford originally committed to play baseball at Washington. Then Boise State football came calling. The hometown athlete stayed home, joined the Broncos in 2021 and took on an entirely new challenge: becoming a college wide receiver.
That transition alone would have made for a good story. What happened next made it something more.
The Long Road Back
Ford’s Boise State career has been repeatedly interrupted by injury.
After beginning to see the field in 2022, he tore an ACL during practice. Complications during rehabilitation eventually required another surgery and cost him the entire 2023 season.
He finally returned in 2024, appearing in 11 games and making his first career start against Washington State. He even caught a pass in Boise State’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Then came 2025. This time, Ford wasn’t simply trying to get onto the field. He had become one of Boise State’s best offensive weapons.
Through seven games, Ford caught 21 passes for 325 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns. Against Eastern Washington, he caught three passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns, including a 60-yard score. Against New Mexico, he recorded a career-high six receptions for 78 yards and two more touchdowns.
After years of rehabilitation and waiting, the former Eagle quarterback had finally broken through as a Boise State receiver.
Then another ACL injury ended his season. Again.
One More Comeback
Ford could have walked away. Instead, he’s back.
Now a sixth-year senior, Ford returned to the practice field in August and is working toward being available when Boise State opens its season against No. 2 Oregon on September 5 in Eugene.
His comeback is already receiving national attention. Ford was named to the 2026 Comeback Player of the Year Watch List, an award recognizing college football players who have overcome significant injury, illness or other circumstances.
He also enters the season as an Athlon Sports Preseason All-Pac-12 Second Team selection. But Ford’s Boise State story isn’t limited to what he’s done on Saturdays.
A business administration major, he has earned Academic All-Mountain West honors three times and Mountain West Scholar-Athlete recognition four times. In 2026, he was also named to the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society for his academic and athletic achievements.
An Idaho Story Worth Following
There is something particularly fitting about a player from Eagle getting another opportunity to run onto the Blue.
Ford grew up watching Boise State football. He went from playing quarterback at Eagle High to learning an entirely different position in college. He waited through injuries, surgeries and seasons when his opportunity seemed impossibly far away.
Then, when that opportunity finally arrived, he became one of Boise State’s leading receivers. Now he’s trying to do it all over again.
Boise State begins the 2026 season September 5 at Oregon, and there will be plenty of national attention surrounding the Broncos.
Here in the Treasure Valley, though, there is another reason to watch.
No. 82 is back. And if Ben Ford’s Boise State career has taught us anything, it’s that you probably shouldn’t count him out.
