You may have seen him in the halls of Campbell Collegiate, or maybe in the classroom at the University of Regina.
But now, you have likely seen him in the starting lineup for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Jaxon Ford has been a member of the Regina community his entire life, so when he went 11th overall to the Roughriders in the 2023 CFL draft, it was a dream come true.
And after starting safety Jayden Dalke was injured during the Labour Day classic, Ford has been thrown into the starting role.
“I was confident going into the first game on Labour Day and the Banjo Bowl as well,” Ford said as he recalled the last two weeks. “I was definitely prepared and ready to go.”
Ford’s head coach has faith in the rookie safety as well and sees similarities between Dalke and Ford’s style of play.
“Both are smart, both are tough and will come up and hit you,” Craig Dickenson, the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, said.
“Jaxon earned the hard hat winner of the game for defence which we give out to the guy who shows the most physicality and toughness, and we felt like for a first start we thought he showed a lot of that,” he said about the Banjo Bowl.
Being in a veteran-led defensive backs room has also helped the rookie gain as much information as possible from guys like Dalke, Nick Marshall and company.
“I’m taking in the little things, like when we’re watching film, paying attention to how far the receiver is in his waggle, there’s little keys like that be pulling… looking at little things like that with the veterans.”
Now on the cusp of making his first start in front of the Mosaic Stadium faithful, Ford is excited but still treating it like any other game.
“The mindset is the same going into every game, preparation is the same, watching film, doing the little things,” Ford said. “I don’t think I’m gonna do anything differently, I’m just gonna go in there and do my job.”
The Roughriders take on the Edmonton Elks Friday, Sept, 15, at 7:30 p.m.