X Marks His Spot: Leesville’s Xavier Ford Emerges as School’s Latest Great Running Back

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

When Leesville High conducts homecoming on Oct. 25 the school will also unveil its latest induction class into the Wampus Cats’ athletics hall of fame. 

The headliner in that group will be the school’s leader in career rushing Cecil Collins who overcame a bumpy collegiate career to play one year in the NFL before encountering further off-the-field difficulty. 

Collins reached legendary status during his career at Leesville where seemingly all of the town’s population of 5,600-plus were in attendance, afforded the opportunity to witness greatness each Friday night at the Vernon Parish school.

Nearly two decades later someone has come along so captivating that while Collins’ star will always shine brightly in his hometown, another superstar has emerged to supplant the school’s No. 1 running back. 

Senior Xavier Ford has thrust himself into the conversation for best running back in school history and for a program such as Leesville that’s produced top-flight backs over its 114-year history, that’s quite an accomplishment. 

Ford has his sights set on the school’s career rushing record and in order to do so, the 5-foot-11, 210-pounder would have to top Collins’ total of 7,834 yards – fifth best on the state’s career list.

“Going into the year, I’m like Cecil Collins … that’s where I want to be,” Ford said. “I want to surpass him and be above him. He’s coming back for homecoming and he’s going to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. I want them to give him his credit, but I don’t want them to say he’s the best running back because I’m going to stand up. I’m going to be the best running back.”

Ford’s a two-time, first-team Class 4A All-State selection who’s already passed such greats as Vincent Fuller (3,454) and his uncle Michael Ford (4,971) and currently ranks second in career rushing with 726 carries for 5,828 yards and 76 touchdowns. 

After consecutive seasons of 2,400-plus yards, Ford’s exploded two weeks into the 2024 season with 70 attempts for 698 yards and 12 touchdowns. Based on his average of 349 yards per game, he would finish the regular season with 8,620 yards, thus surpassing Collins’ mark.

“I knew he would have athletic ability,” Leesville ninth-year head coach Robert Causey, whose team travels to Many at 7 p.m. Friday. “I knew based on his parents, academics would be important and that he would be a good athlete. His character, charisma, and his personality are really his strongest suits. What people see on the field and on film, I tell everybody his character’s 10 times what his athletic ability is and that’s the strongest part of this young man.”

The Latest in a Talented Family

Causey has been around coaching long enough, he prepared to face Collins when he was on staff at Eunice High School. He was also on the coaching staff at Winnfield when the Tigers had standout running back Anthony Thomas who went on to play at Michigan, and he’s spent a total of 26 years at Leesville – the last nine as head coach – and has been witness to some of the best running backs the school’s produced. 

He’s coached Ford’s dad, Frank Larry who went on to play linebacker at McNeese State, and both of Ford’s uncles – Justin and Michael, the latter who went on to play at LSU, and Ford’s older brother, Frank Ford III.

Because of Ford’s lineage, particularly his upbringing by his father and mother Jelisha, Causey imagined the prospects of coaching another generation of Ford, a player so humble and driven, he’s relished their time together.

“It’s bigger than his four years of high school and any accomplishments,” he said. “It’s a life-long journey. That’s the way it’s been with his family. I used to see Xavier and his dad walk around the block when he was little. I never really looked at him as a future athlete. I saw him as the son of a former player, and I couldn’t wait to get a chance to coach him and be a part of the family. That was the thing I looked forward to. He’s the reason why people get into this profession.”

Because of the exploits of 1,000-yard rusher Caleb Gallashaw (1,736 yards, 19 TDs), Ford saw limited time in two games in 2021 with 124 yards and no touchdowns on 124 carries.

“You could tell there was something,” said Causey, who guided Leesville to its sixth district title in 2023. “I don’t like playing freshman. We brought him along really slow. We had a starter in the backfield that was really good. I wasn’t going to put anything on anyone that they can’t handle. We’ll go as fast as you want us to go.”

“We really didn’t need Xavier his freshman year and watched him develop,” Causey said. “We just knew there was something there. I was more concerned with his personal growth, what type of young man he was going to be, and how he could handle it. I knew the type of player he was going to turn into.”

Ford blossomed into a star as a sophomore, a featured back in the mold of his predecessors such as Collins, Michael Ford, and Fuller. 

A former youth league wide receiver was used to covering great lengths of the field and into the end zone, Ford carried 24 times for 161 yards with two touchdowns in a 25-7 win over Jennings in high school debut. He followed that with three straight 200-yard performances in wins over Jena, Iowa, and Catholic-New Iberia.

In his team’s 30-14 triumph over Iowa, Ford had 41 attempts for 257 yards and three touchdowns.

Ford finished the season with 2,581 yards on 352 attempts (7.3 yards per carry) for 32 touchdowns – the third most in school history. He was named to his first Class 4A All-State team and was also a first-team All-CENLA selection, reaching at least 200 yards in a game five times and three-plus touchdowns in seven games. 

“My freshman year, I looked at my uncle’s stats,” Ford said. “When I came on the scene, I thought I could beat those stats. Then my sophomore year rolls around I started playing and going and thought yes, I’m going to pass my uncle.”

Marathon Runner Puts up Big Numbers

Ford carried the momentum of a breakout sophomore season into 2023, rushing for 100-plus yards in all 11 of his games, including three times over 200-plus yards.

He became the poster child for dependability and durability, averaging 26.8 attempts (295) and 220.4 yards per game (2,425 overall) and 34 touchdowns. His rushing total was fifth best for a single season and his touchdowns were only second to Collins’ 40 in 1995. 

“Is his workload really that high or just high to people today?”, Causey asked rhetorically. “We take advantage of the skill that we have on offense. You find a way to give the ball to your guys. That’s our approach. I’ve never really look at his workload that he’s got a lot of carries. He’s just carrying the ball. He’s productive.”

Ford, whose career-high in carries is 41, said he follows a regimen of conditioning, stretching, and ice after a game.

“Sometimes I do it by God’s grace,” he said. “After Friday, it can be tough. I take the weekend to stretch, recover, and ice. I do all the things to get my body back for the next week. I take recovery seriously. Having 30-40 carries a game, you have to get it back to the state it was in.”

“I’m in the weight room, I take conditioning and running seriously,” he said. “I don’t want to put on too much weight and my muscles get too heavy. There’s an emphasis on conditioning, running, and stretching over lifting weights. I try to stay sharp and flexible.” 

Causey said Ford’s increased production is the byproduct of an improved passing game during his sophomore and junior seasons. It was the intent of the offense to make defenses respect that element of the game.

Quarterback Corbitt Robbins passed for 127 yards a game (1,397 yards, 11 TDs) in 2023 and thus far quarterback Trel Broom has averaged 142 passing yards a game and thrown for a touchdown.

“Our passing production has improved and that’s opened it up for him to run the ball,” Causey said. “They have to stay more honest. It’s a tradeoff. To me, he’s an old school back if you want to call me old school. Get the ball to your guys and let them make plays. That’s what you’re supposed to do and that’s get the ball to your playmakers and let them go make plays. That’s how we get it to him and then we have other ways to get it to our guys.”

Ford put together an impressive stretch near the latter half of last season, rushing for 200-plus yards in five consecutive games, and helped Leesville to the Division II state non-select regional round of the state playoffs. 

That began with a 24-carry, 230-yard effort and two touchdowns in a 28-22 district win over DeRidder and included back-to-back performances of 300-plus-yard efforts (39-309, 6 TDs; 33-316, 5 TDs) in victories over Eunice and Rayne to close out the regular season. 

Ford’s resilience was put to the test in a first-round playoff with St. Martinville. His 54 carries were a career best and he rushed for 291 yards and scored five times in a disappointing 46-40 postseason exit.

“I’m asked every Friday by people how many yards, how many touchdowns I’m going to get,” said Ford, named once again to the state’s Class 4A All-State and All-CENLA teams. “I always try to tell more than what I know I can get. That’s the way I think about it.”

Taking Aim at The Record Books

For a player with desirable measurables, production, and acumen (3.5 grade point average), Ford seemingly lacked the necessary recruiting buzz entering his senior season.

He’s garnered scholarship offers from Air Force, Arkansas State, and Central Arkansas. Tulane. UL-Lafayette and UL-Monroe. He’s planned unofficial visits this fall to Tulane and Houston.

“I think it’s pretty good,” Ford said of his recruiting process. “Obviously every player wants the big D1 college like LSU or Alabama. My dream school was always Ohio State, Ole Miss, or Texas. I’m grateful to the schools I’ve built a relationship with. The schools that came here and spent their time with me.”

Causey’s not overly enamored with the advent of the NCAA transfer portal where teams can seek more experienced players over talented high school seniors. He’s also not a huge fan of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) which also hampered recruiting for players such as Ford. 

“The game has changed, so the high school kids suffer,” Causey said. “These coaches have access to everybody’s film but won’t recruit you unless you come to camp. It’s frustrating and I’m not just referring to our kids. How many other kids are passed by this way? That upsets me because there are some good kids in the area, and I feel they get overlooked.

“With Xavier, he’s an old school type back, he wants a relationship,” Causey said. “Who’s going to build that relationship and trust with him, that you’re going to have his back no matter what happens when he gets to the next level. To be sure I have a 40-year successful life in something and it’s not about athletics. I believe God has a plan. He has a plan for all of us and it’s on HIS time. He has a bright future for this young man. He will end up where he’s supposed to be with the people, and school he’s supposed to be with. Whoever that is are the lucky ones.”

Ford acknowledges some of the trepidation from college recruiters stems from his 4.62 time in the 40-yard dash. He points to his highlight tapes over his career where in 70 touchdown runs, he’s never been caught from behind.

“I’m not a burner,” he said. “Coach said we’re going to give the ball to our playmakers. If we’re going to run, we’re just going to run it. That’s what is working. Why change it.”

During his participation this summer in an Under Armour Elite Camp, Ford worked with running backs coach Brandon Jacobs, a former standout at Assumption High School. Jacobs went on to play at both Auburn and Southern Illinois in college and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

When Jacobs learned that Ford was also a native of Louisiana, the hulking former running back, and two-time Super Bowl champion informed him his 3,025 rushing yards in 2000 ranked among the best in the state’s history. 

Collins’ 3,045 yards in 1995 ranks No. 1, another target for Ford to shoot for.

“I told him (Jacobs) to his face I’m going to break it,” Ford said. “That’s my goal. Strive to go for more.”

The family tree is a good place to trace the origin of Ford’s competitiveness. Before the start of his sophomore season, his father established the bar for his first year at 2,500 yards. 

Ford exceeded that by 81 yards and subsequently followed up last season with 2,425 yards with an eye on reaching a greater plateau. 

“It was achievable with the teammates that I had,” Ford said. “Once I achieved that, I always wanted to strive for more, I always wanted to strive for better.”

Ford wants to line himself up against the state’s other top backs, Harlem Berry of St. Martin’s Episcopal (LSU commitment) and James Simon of Calvary Baptist (Texas commitment), and deliver a body of work that would make him tops in not only Louisiana but the nation.

Berry is the No. 1 rated runner and Simon No. 7 by On3Sports, while Ford is unranked but certainly not undaunted. 

Part of that is from the support Ford received from family members such as Michael Ford who has urged him to seek greatness. 

“He just wished me to be better,” he said. “We worked out and he put me in situations to overcome what he’s done.”

Leesville didn’t have an overabundance of experienced players returning from last year’s 7-4 team that bowed out after the first round of the playoffs.

The strength of the 2024 Wampus Cats would be Ford in the backfield with the luxury of running behind three senior linemen Andrew Lewis (center), Kenneth Ingram (right tackle), and Jaythan Hurd (left tackle).

The result has been out-of-this-orbit numbers where Ford picked up 389 yards on 39 carries and six touchdowns in a 56-41 season-opening defeat against Sam Houston. A week later, in a back-and-forth tussle with Tioga, he rushed 31 times for a career-high 400 yards and six more touchdowns.

Ford enabled Leesville to outscore Tioga 27-7 in the second half and withstand a game with six lead changes. Of his six touchdowns, five of them covered 50 or more yards with a long run of 70 that gave the Wampus Cats the lead for good at 36-32. 

The first 400-yard effort of his career was 43 yards off the school’s single-game record of 443 set by Michael Ford in 2008.

Of the school’s top 73 rushing performances, Xavier Ford has 16 of them, one behind Collins (17) and six better than Michael Ford (10).

“My goal was to try and be better than them in all aspects,” Ford said. “It’s good to see that I’ve been able to achieve and surpass that goal.”