Veteran coach Cornell Ford reunited with head coach Barry Odom in 2023 and his nearly all-new running back room produced stunning results for the regular-season co-champions.
Buoyed by a fresh-legged committee of runners, the UNLV offense finished sixth in the nation in third-down conversions at 49.3%, posting more third-down conversions than any team in the nation with 101. The Rebels finished 22nd in the nation in scoring with 34.4 points per game and tied for eighth in the nation for red-zone offense at 93.1%. A trio of backs ran for at least 450 yards apiece and rookieÂ
Jai’Den Thomas set a school record for rushing touchdowns by a freshman in both a game (four) and season. In fact, his dozen scores was tops among all freshmen in college football. In addition, seniors Vincent Davis Jr. and Donavyn Lester both earned Honorable Mention All-Mountain West as UNLV finished tied for second in the nation with a school-record 39 rushing touchdowns.
Ford joined UNLV after spending the previous two seasons coaching cornerbacks at his alma mater Toledo, including mentoring 2024 NFL First Round Draft Pick Quinyon Mitchell, who went 22nd overall to the Philadelphia Eagles.Â
Ford previously coached for the Rockets for seven seasons under former head coach Gary Pinkel and spent 19 seasons as an assistant at Missouri under Pinkel and then as assistant head coach and running backs coach under Barry Odom when he led the Mizzou program from 2016-19. Ford was a graduate assistant coach with the Rockets from 1991-92 before joining the staff as an assistant coach at Marietta from 1993-95. He returned to Toledo in 1996 to serve as the wide receivers coach, then followed Pinkel to Missouri when he took the head coaching job with the Tigers in 2001.
Ford was a part of Rocket teams that went 39-18 and won a MAC West Division title in 1997. Toledo set 10 passing records in 1997 and finished with a 10-1 record in 2000. Ford mentored one of the top receivers in Rocket history, Mel Long Jr., who caught 175 passes from 1997-2000. At Missouri, Ford coached the outside safeties from 2001-03 and the cornerbacks from 2004-15. During Ford’s tenure at Missouri, the Tigers won three Big 12 North Division titles and two SEC East Division crowns. He spent the 2020 season as a volunteer assistant at Toledo before rejoining the staff full time.
A native of Gary, Indiana, Ford earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education (1991) and master’s degree in sports administration (1993) from Toledo.
Ford and his wife, Dawn, are the parents of a son, Devin, and a daughter, Taylor.
FORD’S COACHING FILE
2022-PR           UNLV – Running backs
2021-22            Toledo – Cornerbacks
2020               Toledo – Volunteer Coach
2016-19          Missouri – Assistant Head Coach, Running Backs
2004-15          Missouri – Cornerbacks
2001-03          Missouri – Outside Safeties
1996-2000      Toledo – Receivers
1996                Toledo – Receivers, Recruiting Coordinator
1993-95          Marietta – Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers
1991-92          Toledo – Graduate Assistant
