Michael Carlton Ford (born January 30, 1959) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He attended Mesquite High School in

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Kaufman County, Texas, Kaufman County. The population was 150,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and maki ...

. Ford played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

from 1977 to 1980. As a sophomore in 1978, he led all NCAA major college players in both total offense yards (2,957), total offense per game (268.8 yards/game), and passing yards (3,007). In 11 games during the 1978 season, he completed 224 of 389 passes for 3,007 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions for and SMU team that compiled a 4–6–1 record. Listed as a pre-season

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

candidate in 1979, he never reached the same statistical levels, passing for 217 yards after sustaining a knee injury in 1979 season opener, and tallying 951 passing yards in 1980. He returned to SMU as a student 30 year later to obtain his degree. After his college career, he played in the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

for the San Antonio Gunslingers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Mike Living people 1959 births American football quarterbacks San Antonio Gunslingers players SMU Mustangs football players Players of American football from Texas People from Clarksville, Texas Mesquite High School (Texas) alumni

See also

References