Jaxon Ford elevated his game while lowering the boom.
The third-year Saskatchewan Roughriders safety administered two jarring hits during Saturday’s pre-season opener against the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
He did so while wearing No. 21 — which was donned with distinction by his grandfather, Alan Ford, during 11 seasons with the Green and White — for the first time against an opposing CFL team.
“We should have changed his number maybe a couple of years ago,” Head Coach Corey Mace joked after Monday’s Coors Light Training Camp workout at Mosaic Stadium.
“I didn’t have the pleasure to watch Al out there to see if he was anything like that, but Jaxon looked like a different guy.
“He had the sidelines going. He played really well. We’re really pleased with his effort there. He has kind of set the new bar for himself and that’s the expectations now that we all have for him.”
Despite a resounding 2025 debut, Ford isn’t resting on his laurels.
“I think it went well,” he said, “but there’s always stuff to work on.”
Ford, who wore No. 17 for the past two seasons, played like he had a license number on Saturday.
Starting at safety with incumbent Nelson Lokombo not making the trip to Winnipeg, Ford impactfully introduced himself to two Blue Bombers receivers during the first half.
He toppled Jaylen Hall for a loss of two before sending Jerreth Sterns to the turf with a five-yard gain on second-and-10.
“New number, new me,” Ford said with a grin.
Asked to define the “new me,” he responded: “Smarter … more aggressive.”
Ford’s smarts helped him earn perennial Academic All-Canadian honours as a member of the University of Regina Rams. And, yes, he wore No. 21 in the Canada West ranks.
The Roughriders took notice of his presence in the secondary, selecting him in the second round (11th overall) of the 2023 CFL Draft.
He played in 15 games as a rookie with the Roughriders. Most memorably, his pass deflection in overtime secured a 32-30 victory over Winnipeg in the Labour Day Classic on Sept. 3, 2023.
A broken scaphoid bone, suffered late in the 2023 season, delayed the start of Ford’s sophomore season. He missed training camp in 2024 and was limited to six games overall.
“It feels great being healthy and getting a full camp, being able to learn a defence, and to be out there and actually play,” said Ford, who was introduced to the current scheme after Mace was hired on Nov. 30, 2023.
“Last year definitely helped me learn the defence from a different perspective. I wasn’t taking too many reps. I was taking a lot of mental reps. Asking the guys about it, too, and talking to them also helped, because it was just a different perspective.”
Now his goal is to be a difference-maker, week in and week out, as a third-year member of a team his legendary grandfather represented as a player (1965 to 1976) and a general manager (1989 to 1999).
“Every year is important for me, but this is an important year for us — the franchise,” the 24-year-old Ford said. “We’ve got to take that next step this year.”
