REGINA – You can add Saskatchewan Roughriders Plaza of Honour member Scott Schultz to the rapidly growing chorus of onlookers who feel we might be seeing Jaxon Ford as a regular starter in the CFL for the foreseeable future.
Back-to-back games with huge defensive stops at big moments combined with some solid play in general for an injury-plagued secondary have made the Regina product look invaluable, and that only bodes well for what Ford might see when it comes to playing time in upcoming games.
Schultz joined The SportsCage on Wednesday for the Mid-Week Sound-Off segment and didn’t leave much to doubt as to what his opinion of Ford’s status in the line-up should be.
“Jaxon Ford has got to stay on the field,” he said, matter-of-factly. “He does a great job on teams. And when he's utilized, you see what he's able to produce for himself.”
Ford’s initial opportunity this season came in Week 2 when Nelson Lokombo went out with an injury. His play has been steady since, as he currently sits fourth on the team in tackles with 17 and has already exceeded his career high of 15 stops from back in his rookie season in 2023.
But it was two plays at important moments the last two games that caused Ford to really pop up on the radar.
The first came in Week 5 as the Ottawa Redblacks were driving for the potential game-winning score. With quarterback Bryson Barnes attempting to convert a third-and-one deep in Rider territory, Ford would surge through the right side of the line and stop Barnes in his tracks for the crucial turnover on downs.
Then came Sunday against Hamilton, where on a TiCats drive off an interception, Ford would absolutely hammer quarterback Jake Dolegala on another third-and-one and force the turnover on downs. Eight plays later, the Riders had an insurance touchdown and the rout was on.
“He's one of those guys who you don't look at and say intrinsically he's the ultimate athlete or he's the ultimate brain,” Schultz said when asked of the work Ford has put in to reach this point. “He's just that kid that has made it onto the roster and has fought tooth and nail through injury, through competition… Once he's on the field, once you put him in, they'll never take him out. And he's living up to that. He's making the most of his opportunities. All he can do is continue to do that.”
The Riders gave everyone an idea of how things might work out in the future when Lokombo returned for Week 5 against Ottawa and moved to defensive halfback instead of his spot ahead of Ford.
The key now for the 25-year-old former University of Regina standout will be to keep doing what he can to progress and improve, something Schultz feels won’t be a problem given his current habits.
“If you're the type of player that wants or needs more teaching or needs more discussion, the coach is always there for that and I know Jackson's always around the facility, always in the room,” Schultz said. “Being a Saskatchewan kid, the history of his family, he knows how big it is. And it's not so much like, ‘I want to play and I should be playing’. He wants to play and he wants to earn it and he'll show you.”
And if Ford can help Saskatchewan’s defence keep on keeping on – especially in light of their overall showing in Week 6 – then there could be many bright times ahead for Riderville. Especially if things start clicking on both sides of the ball at the same time, Schultz said. “You don't want to start talking too early about it, but championship teams, they save the other sides of the ball when they're not performing,” he said. “One week it could be defence and the offence needs to pick us up and vice versa. So that's what you kind of saw a little bit, the defence kind of coming into their own.”
The Roughriders are currently in their second bye week and are back on the field on July 23 when they take on the Edmonton Elks at Mosaic Stadium.
