Ford a unanimous All-American pick with a place on Walter Camp team

Montana cornerback Justin Ford officially became a unanimous All-American last week, with the Walter Camp Football Foundation announcing its prestigious FCS All-America list.

Ford has now been named a first-team All-American on all eight of the top teams released this season, joining HERO Sports, Associated Press, FCS Athletic Directors Association, Stats Perform, American Football Coaches Association, Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.

The Big Sky Newcomer of the Year who led all levels of college football with nine interceptions and three defensive touchdowns, Ford was one of just 25 players from across the country to earn a place on the Walter Camp list, as voted by FCS sports information directors.

Over the course of eight games, Ford tallied at an interception in each to go on one of football's most unprobeable streaks. He brought his season total to nine with a pick-six against Eastern Washington, one of his three defensive scores on the year with a pair of interception returns and a fumble return against Montana State.

Ford tied Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer Karl Stein's 1970 total for the third-most interceptions in a season at UM with nine. Only safeties Mick Dennehy (10) and Stein (11 in 1969) have had more INTs for the Griz, giving Ford has the most of any cornerback in Montana history. He also picked off the most passes of anyone in the Big Sky Conference since 1996.

The native of Concord, N.C., was Montana's eighth-leading tackler in 2021 with 41 total stops. He also registered a pair of TFLs, one sack, 11 pass breakups, 20 pass deflections, and a forced fumble.

Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. The Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA).

The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards.

The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients.

2021 Walter Camp All-America Team
Offense
Wide Receiver:
Xavier Gipson, sophomore, Stephen F. Austin
BJ Byrd, senior, Morehead State

Tight End:
Kemari Averett, senior, Bethune-Cookman

Offensive Line:
Trevor Penning, junior, Northern Iowa
Cordell Volson, senior, North Dakota State
Cole Strange, senior, Tennessee Chattanooga
Lewis Kidd, senior, Montana State

Center:
Thomas Parker, junior, Sacramento State

Quarterback:
Eric Barriere, senior, Eastern Washington

Running Back:
Quay Holmes, freshman, East Tennessee State
Pierre Strong, Jr, senior, South Dakota State

Placekicker:
Ethan Ratke, senior, James Madison

Defense
Defensive Line:
Jared Brinkman, senior, Northern Iowa
Josiah Silver, freshman, New Hampshire
Nate Lynn, senior, William & Mary
Jahari Kay, senior, Sam Houston

Linebackers:
Isaiah Land, junior, Florida A&M
Troy Anderson, senior, Montana State
Matt Shotwell, senior, Cal Poly
Forrest Rhyne, graduate, Villanova

Defensive Backs
Justin Ford, junior, Montana
Darius Joiner, senior, Western Illinois
Christian Benford, senior, Villanova
Markquese Bell, senior, Florida A&M

Kick Returner:
Rashid Shaheed, senior, Weber Sate

University of Montana Athletics

Ford a unanimous All-American pick with a place on Walter Camp team

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