By trading with the Miami Dolphins for wide receiver Isaiah Ford, the New England Patriots are getting quite the athlete.
So much so, that some of his former coaches believe he also could have played in the NBA.
And according to a profile on Ford by Joe Schad in the Palm Beach Post written in 2018, that perhaps could have been the case had he listened to one of his best friends, Grayson Allen.
Yes. We are referring to the former Duke basketball standout who now plays for the Utah Jazz.
Ford revealed that he was disappointed with his role on his football team at Trinity Christian Academy during his freshman year of high school after making the transition from quarterback to wide receiver. And if his mother had let him, he would have listened to Allen and transferred to the Providence School in Jacksonville, Fla. to hoop.
“It was my love,” Ford told the Palm Beach Post referring to basketball in the piece.
That plan didn’t work out, but Ford wanted to continue playing both sports in college. He committed to Louisville to play basketball under Rick Pitino as well as football under Charlie Strong. But when Strong left the Cardinals to coach the Texas Longhorns, Ford opted to go to Virginia Tech instead.
He wasn’t a dual-sport athlete for the Hoakies, but went on to be one of Virginia Tech’s best receivers of all time before being drafted by Miami in 2016. Still, he previously said he sometimes wonders how things would have played out if he played basketball for Pitino.
“My Dad would joke around all the time and say how he never knows how the Lord is going to bless me,” Ford said, via the Palm Beach Post. “He thinks I can still go out there and play. Sometimes I do sit there and wonder what if. But at the same time I love the position I’m in. The opportunity that I have.”
That opportunity in the NFL has led to him becoming a member of the Patriots, providing much-needed depth in their receiving corps.
And Ford said he’s grateful to have another fresh start in New England.
