USF’s Johnny Ford no longer with the team

TAMPA — USF redshirt sophomore running back Johnny Ford “will no longer be with the team moving forward,” Bulls coach Jeff Scott said Tuesday afternoon at his weekly in-person news conference. Scott added that he would say no more on the topic.

Ford’s dismissal ends a sometimes tumultuous relationship between the Bulls and Ford, who, under previous coach Charlie Strong, was suspended for an unspecified team-rules violation in October 2019 and for last year’s season opener against Wisconsin.

Ford, a Miami native, was held out of a couple games this year because of contact tracing related to the coronavirus. He finished 2020 with 285 yards rushing on 55 carries with three touchdowns and 731 all-purpose yards (team highs heading into Friday’s game against UCF). He had 15 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Ford started his college career with the Bulls as a true freshman in 2018, finishing with a promising 115 carries for 787 yards and eight touchdowns.

Ford’s forced exit is the second for a prominent Bulls starter in the last month. On Oct. 29, Scott said USF junior safety Nick Roberts would no longer be with the team after Roberts was benched following an on-field altercation during the second half of a game against Tulsa the previous weekend.