MOBILE, Ala. – How bad do you want it?

That's a question asked by coaches in every sport at all levels of collegiate athletics on a daily basis.  The answer, of course, varies, and sometimes actions speak louder than words.

University of South Alabama defensive back Qudarius Ford is a soft-spoken individual off the field, but from the beginning he has let it be known to the Jaguar coaching staff that he would be willing to do what it takes to become a key member of the program.

No scholarship offer? Ford was willing to walk on.

No room on the depth chart?  The Cantonment, Fla., native would play on special teams units.

An injury after finally earning the two things — a scholarship and a place in the Jags' starting lineup — he coveted most?  Ford worked just as hard as he did to get those in the first place in order to return and make a significant contribution the last two years.

But if one wants to hear his story, they better listen close — he'd be the last individual to brag on his accomplishments.


It's not just that Ford wasn't heavily recruited coming out of Tate High School — that tends to happen when you stand 5-foot-9 — but to expect him to contribute for the Jaguars at cornerback would not have been the first thought.  Although he earned letters in football, basketball and track for the Aggies, he was primarily a wide receiver; albeit one who surpassed 1,000 all-purpose yards for three straight seasons.

Ford might not have displayed the size collegiate coaches are looking for, but he did have an attribute that caught the attention of USA's staff.  In the spring of his senior year, he was a district champion in the 100-meter dash.

"We didn't know very much about Qudarius from watching film, but we knew he had really good speed," explained Jaguar head coach Joey Jones.  "We thought he might be able to run around a 4.4 [40-meter time] once he got into our weight-training program, and sure enough that's what he has done; we've timed him in the high 4.3s a couple of times."

While his speed was intriguing, there still wasn't a scholarship offer to be found for Ford.  In fact, South Alabama was the only program even willing to bring him in if he and his family would be able to pay for school.

Turns out, that was enough to get him to come to Mobile.

"It didn't really affect me, I just took it as that's where I am supposed to be," Ford said of the recruiting process.  "Whoever was going to give me a chance, I was going to make the most of it."

No matter what was asked of Ford, he was willing to do it.  As he showed on his first day in preseason camp.

"I walked-on to play receiver, but the day I got here and talked with Coach [Brian] Turner he told me they needed help in the secondary.  I just went ahead and went with it; I felt like God had a plan for me," he recalled.  "I knew I could play on the defensive side of the ball though, it wasn't that big of a transition.  It didn't take me that long to get comfortable.

"I was happy to be on a Division I team, so I just took it all in stride."


Ford did not see action in the fall of 2010, but he did find his way into a role on special teams and appeared in all 10 games the following year, even earning the coaches' special teams award following his Jaguar debut against West Alabama.  It was an important year for him, not only because of what he was able to accomplish in getting on the field at all, but it opened his eyes to the possibilities in front of him.

"I just felt like I was a part of something, that I finally made it," Ford remembered.  "It was indescribable the first time I went out on the field, and that first tackle is something to remember.  The year after I played special teams, heading into the summer, that's when I really saw that I can play at this level and that my size wouldn't be a factor."

In spring practice that year, Ford went out and proved it to the staff.  Before the end of the semester, he had earned a starting job heading into the 2012 campaign — along with something more important to him and his family.

A scholarship.

"That was one of the best days of my life really," Ford observed.  "I knew that it was going to help my family out, and that's what I worked for all this time.  I called my dad when I first found out; he has always been behind me, and my mom has too — my parents probably cried more than I did.

"My dad would tell me to keep working and that something good was coming, and it finally came."

"That's near and dear to my heart because I feel like that's who you want on your team, guys who can prove themselves," Jones said of the moment when Ford accepted his scholarship offer.  "When Qudarius came here he was a smaller guy — he probably weighed 155 pounds coming out of high school ... (here he pauses) … maybe — though we knew he could run.  To see him work every day to earn a scholarship, that's what you want.  A lot of guys have proven themselves, and he is one of them."


But there would be more disappointment for Ford before there would be joy.  Namely in the form of an injury suffered early in preseason camp that fall, one that would knock him out for the year.

"I tried not to question what happened, because I feel like everything happens for a reason," he stated.  "I really just tried to sit back that season and learn more about the game.  I realized that it wasn't my time – that's how I took it — and that it was just preparing me for what was to come."

What was to come was a breakout performance in 2013.  Ford's first signature moment came in his second start at Tulane, though it was in an old role that he was able to come up with a key contribution — special teams.  After seeing a 28-7 lead disappear in the third quarter, he blocked a punt that was recovered in the end zone for a score, putting the Jaguars in front for good on the way to a 41-39 victory.  The next week he recorded a career-best 12 tackles in a one-touchdown, Sun Belt Conference victory over Western Kentucky, and before the month would close he tacked on his first career interception when USA visited Tennessee.

"My first interception when we played Tennessee will be one of the things that I will remember years from now," Ford said.  "We were in front of a big crowd and played on national TV.  It was a big moment for me."

And it was Ford who would supply another monumental play for the Jag defense in the program's finale against SBC co-champion Louisiana-Lafayette, intercepting a pass and returning it 42 yards for a score — what would turn out to be USA's final touchdown of the year — seconds before halftime for a 30-0 lead at the break.  After claiming their third straight win to close out the season, the Jags had six victories and were eligible to compete in a postseason bowl.

He finished the year with 76 tackles, six passes broken up and the two interceptions, ranking among the top 15 in the league in both stops and passes defended, earning second-team all-Sun Belt honors from College Sports Madness.

"I really didn't set any goals going into last year," he explained.  "I just went out there and played every game like it was my last."

That set the stage for Ford and the Jaguars to build on that success in search of the school's first-ever postseason bowl bid.  USA has garnered the necessary six wins to make that a possibility, but much like the squad Ford has experienced both highs and lows his final season at the collegiate level.

He was credited with a season-best nine stops — including eight of the solo variety — when the Jags picked up their first conference victory at Idaho the final weekend of September, and his five passes broken up are among the team leaders in the category.  But the latter number, along with his total of 27 tackles, have come in just seven appearances; first, Ford missed the game against rival Troy due to a concussion suffered the previous week, and once he was cleared to return he incurred a knee injury late in the contest at UL-Lafayette that has prevented him from taking the field since.

While Ford will not be able to play on Senior Day when the Jaguars take on Navy, it has just proven to be another bump in a road filled with potholes that he has traversed.  "I look at it as another chance to thank God for the position I'm in, and that I will be able to still prepare for the next step in my life," he said.  "I'm focusing on getting ready for a bowl game, my family has done a good job of being behind me and keeping me positive."


So how does one overcome the odds to get what he wants?  It takes more than just the willingness to work hard.

"I don't know that 'Q' knows that he's 5-foot-7, because he doesn't play like that," USA defensive coordinator Travis Pearson said of Ford prior to the start of the season.  "That's a guy who never says a word at practice and does exactly what he's supposed to do.  When you have the heart of a champion like him, you're going to do good things.  His energy is phenomenal, he comes to work every day with a great attitude.  He doesn't think that he's supposed to lose on the edge and most times he doesn't.

"I don't think he knows that he's 'Q' Ford, I think he thinks he's King Kong.  That's what he plays like, and I'm not going to tell him different."

Ford acknowledges what Pearson saw after switching from coaching inside linebackers to defensive backs in the spring, that a certain attitude is required to overcome the obstacles others throw in your way.  "I have always had to prove myself; from little league to high school I was always one of the smallest players out there on the field," he explained.  "But I feel like I can play with anybody, so I just went out there with a chip on my shoulder."

However he does it, Ford's story is one that Jaguar coaches appreciate.

"When I saw 'Q' in high school he was superfast, and I could see he had the kind of character that we wanted on our team," Turner commented.  "With his size we didn't know about offering him [a scholarship], but we talked him into coming here and walking on and he has proven to us he can play here."

Ford's success isn't important just because of the results achieved for both he and the program — particularly over the last two years — but in the possibilities provided to any number of future student-athletes who think the mountain is too high to climb.

"For him to do what he did as a walk-on receiver, then come over as a defensive back, I would say his mentality has to be a little different from everybody else," stated Pearson.  "But you always want to see success stories of guys like Qudarius who beat the odds because there are so many that don't.  For him to come here and pay his own way, and to do what he has done is really special.  And he can possible help the next kid understand that it's not the size of the dog per se, but the size of the fight in the dog."

"I'll always remember that feeling of what it's like to be a walk-on," Ford added.  "All the kids back home talk to me about walking-on here or there, and I tell them to go for it.  All you have to do is go prove yourself.  If you believe in yourself then everything will be alright.  That feeling of accomplishing something, of going from nothing to something and proving myself, will always be with me."

How bad did Qudarius Ford want it?  That's a question that no longer needs to be asked.  The answer lies in an approach that goes back to before he ever set foot on South Alabama's campus.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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