Despite growing up in Louisiana, Ford committed to the Oklahoma Sooners coming out of high school. The 4-star prospect was considered one of the top 25 guards in the country and had originally committed to TCU.
Ford redshirted his freshman year in 2015 and only started three games in 2016 before a broken fibula cost him the rest of the season. He appeared in 12 games in 2017, starting four at left guard. When Orlando Brown left for the NFL after the 2017 season, Ford dropped 15 pounds and moved to right tackle, where he started 14 games - earning a second-team All-Big 12 selection and a third-team AP All-American honor.