Boise State starting wide receiver out for season

Ben Ford suffered lower leg injury against UNLV

Boise State Broncos wide receiver Ben Ford. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson announced on Wednesday that starting wide receiver Ben Ford will miss the rest of the season due to an unspecified lower leg injury. 

Ford, a redshirt senior from nearby Eagle High School, has 21 catches for 325 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns this year. 

“Ben Ford regrettably found out that he did have a season-ending injury,” Danielson said. “Breaks my heart for that young man. He’s a phenomenal kid, and he’s a great football player for our team. He’s been through a lot, been through a lot of injuries. But he’s going to battle back, he’s going to be stronger than ever. … I know his best is still in front of him, but it’s hard going through those moments, especially for a young man who has put his all into this team.

“And obviously he’s a huge part of our team, he’s a huge weapon for his team. But guys have to carry the flag, guys have to step up.”

Ford suffered the injury in last week’s win over UNLV. 

Danielson said Ford, who also missed the entire 2023 season due to injury, could receive a medical redshirt year and return to the team in 2026. 

Boise State Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson. | Boise State Athletics

“I feel really confident about some of those things,” Danielson said. “We’ve got to still work through a lot of that stuff. It’s obviously still new. Especially who he is to this community, who he is to this team, I don’t want to live in the gray area with that. 

“He’s a warrior, and it broke my heart on Saturday what happened to him. But I know he’s in good spirits, because he’s a warrior. I know it’s hard and he’s been through multiple situations like this in his football career, which is hard. He still has yet to ever have a bad attitude, ever not be a good teammate.”

Ford is one of five Broncos (5-2, 3-0) listed as ‘out’ on Boise State’s Week 9 player availability report. 

Starting safety Zion Washington and reserves Davon Banks (nickelback), Chase Martin (linebacker) and Hall Schmidt (offensive tackle) will all be unavailable for Friday’s Mountain West matchup with Nevada (1-6, 0-3). 

The MWC implemented a player availability report policy for all conference games this season.  

Two days before a game, teams are required to list which players are questionable to play or will be unavailable. The designations are updated three hours prior to kickoff. 

The reports only include a player’s name and availability. No specific injury details are listed in the report. 

Schools are only required to submit availability reports for conference games. All available reports are posted on TheMW.com.