At the end of his whirlwind first day as the new University of Toledo football coach, Jason Candle sat down to dinner with his wife, Nicole.
They had finally stolen a moment to celebrate the good tidings.
Then the phone rang.
It was Zachary Ford, a high school defensive back from Cleveland and a UT commit. He wanted to say hi … and bye.
“He’s telling me he’s going to decommit and go somewhere else,” Candle said. “I got a head coaching job and lost a recruit all in the same day.”
Eight years later, the coach and player smiled at the memory.
The end was only the beginning.
In a beautiful paradox, the first recruit to bail on Candle after his promotion in December 2015 became the biggest constant of his career.
Ford, 25, has been at Toledo through thick, thin, and thicker.
He enrolled in 2017 and — because of a medical redshirt and the free pandemic season — is now in his SEVENTH autumn at UT, during which time he’s made the most of a twisting journey that could yield three Mid-American Conference championship rings and just as many diplomas.
Ford graduated in three-and-a-half years with a degree in marketing, then got his MBA in leadership. He considered pursuing his doctorate before taking a well-deserved deep breath.
“I can always go back and get it,” Ford said.
Instead, he’s getting his PHd in football, with an eye toward the NFL. The senior safety is enjoying the best season of his career, ranking fifth on UT with 32 tackles and wielding an outsized influence.
The younger Rockets look up to Ford as a been-there-done-that sage, his experience an asset they do not let him forget.
I would say the beloved captain is Toledo’s Old Man and the C in the midnight blue and golden years of college, but, alas, his teammates have all the jokes.
When former UT coach Tom Amstutz addressed the Rockets before their homecoming game last month, one wise guy asked, “Zach, was he your coach when you started?”
“Say, if I’m injured, the guys will be like, ‘The years are really catching up with you,’” Ford said. “Or they’ll say, ‘What’s good, unc?’”
He laughed.
“It’s crazy how God works,” Ford said. “I believe that everything happens for a reason, and, ultimately, I’m grateful I ended up spending a lot of time in Toledo.”
Looking back, he can’t imagine doing better elsewhere.
Recruited as a cornerback out of high school, Ford was naturally on edge when Matt Campbell and the position coach who courted him to Toledo — D.K. McDonald — left for Iowa State.
“There was just the uncertainty,” he said. “But at the same time, Toledo was my first offer, so the love was still there.”
Ford renewed his vows months later, and the rest is, well, it’s a long story.
After a breakthrough season in 2018 — 32 tackles, two interceptions — he sustained a season-ending leg injury in the 2019 opener and was never quite himself in 2020, battling a three-month case of long COVID.
Ford was down, but undeterred. Even in his lowest moments, he remained a picture of consistency, earning Academic All-MAC honors and working toward his next opportunity under the stadium lights.
“Zach is just such a good, decent young man,” said Jeff Rotsky, who coached Ford — and some guy named Travis Kelce — at Cleveland Heights. “Sometimes, stuff doesn’t go your way, but he had the courage — and it really is courage — to fight back and not let his circumstances take his life over. I’m just very proud.”
Ford began to see the payoff the past two years — when he had 103 tackles and 10 pass breakups — and his play has elevated this season. The 6-3, 200-pound converted corner is not just a pillar of a veteran secondary but the UT program itself.
A perfect example of humility, heart, and perseverance.
“He’s going to do all the right things,” quarterback Dequan Finn said. “And when he speaks up, everyone knows that his voice is to be heard. Everyone is going to listen.”
As for Candle, eight years after Ford rained on that celebratory dinner, you might say all is forgiven.
“Cooler heads prevailed, Zach found his way back to Toledo, and the rest is history,” Candle said, smiling. “I'm just glad we have him in our program. He means a lot to this team.”
Just as Toledo means the world to Ford.
“It’s been a great experience here,” he said. “I’ve been preparing for these moments this season my entire life. I’m just glad to see it come to fruition. It took seven years, but you’ve got to believe in the process.”
First Published October 11, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
