RICHMOND —
Just days after being named a semifinalist for a prestigious scholar-athlete award, EKU senior Patrick Ford suffered what might be a season-ending injury.
The Richmond native and former Madison Central High School standout sustained a knee injury in a win over UT-Martin Sept. 29. The offensive lineman did not play last week against Tennessee State and is scheduled to be re-examined by doctors next week.
“We will find out a lot more (then), but it doesn’t look good,” EKU coach Dean Hood said.
Ford went down in the second half of the win over the Skyhawks. The senior offensive tackle had another player fall on him and remained on the ground before being helped off the field.
“He’s a tough kid,” Hood said of Ford. “So, when he stayed down, I knew we were in trouble.”
Ford had started almost every game the past three seasons at either guard or tackle. The senior was named a 2012 preseason Third-Team All-American by The Sports Network and was a First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection last season.
Ford has already earned his bachelor’s degree in construction management (3.9 GPA) and is currently working on his masters degree in applied engineering and technical management.
On Sept. 27, Ford was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. The award is given annually by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame to the best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
The 147 semifinalists include players from NCAA Division I FBS and FCS schools, Division II and Division III schools and NAIA schools.
Ford was one of just two OVC players to be named a semifinalist.
With Ford out of the lineup, the Colonels had to shuffle the offensive line against Tennessee State. Senior Aaron Adams moved from right tackle to left tackle and Brett Eyckmans started at right tackle.
“We’ve moved around during the season,” Adams said of the offensive line. “I’ve played left (tackle) in every game. Brett (Eyckmans) has been in every game. So, it wasn’t that much of a changeup, but its still different without Pat out there.”
Ford’s injury is the latest blow to an offensive line that was supposed to feature four starters from last year. Senior center O.J. Enabosi, a First-Team All-OVC selection, was ruled academically ineligible prior to the season.
Move over coach
Senior Tyrone Goard needs just 98 yards to move into EKU’s career Top-10 receiving list.
He currently has 1,408 yards on 79 catches with 22 touchdowns.
When he moves into the Top 10, he will pass current EKU running backs coach John Revere, who finished his career with 1,503 yards on 95 catches with 13 touchdowns.
Revere played at EKU from 1972 to 1975 and is in his 16th season on the school’s coaching staff.
Goard is currently fourth in the OVC (14th nationally) in receiving yards a game (93.2). So far this season, the senior has 20 catches for 466 yards and six touchdowns.
Big man getting up
After he intercepted a pass from Tennessee State quarterback Michael German in the third quarter last Saturday, David Carter wanted to score.
The 6-foot-3, 293-pound redshirt junior defensive lineman took off up the field. The Louisville native returned the ball 18 yards to the TSU 26-yard line and in the process jumped over German, who tried to make a diving tackle.
“It looked a lot higher on the field,” Adams said of Carter’s jump over German. “If you go back and look at the film it looks like he just got over a thimble.”
It was Carter’s first career interception.
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