Sports traveled with Keith Ford growing up while on the move with his military family; except for one.

"My mom never let me play football. I always wanted to play tackle football ever since I was a little boy, but my mom would never let me play," said Ford.

That changed when the family moved back stateside to the Houston area after seven years on a military base in Okinawa, Japan.

"When I came to 8th grade, Hurricane Ike hit and there were only like four games in the season, and then the coach asked me personally 'Do you want to try playing football?' and I was just like 'I got to talk to my mom about it," said Ford.

Mom finally said yes and Ford quickly blossomed into a five-star running back recruit who eventually signed with Oklahoma.

And football is not the only thing Keith finally had in his new home.

"Growing up living on a military base you don't have that established friendship thing."

But Ford did in Cypress, with a small, tight-knit crew that formed nearly immediately upon his arrival.

"I only really have six friends. Three of them are gone," said Ford

The first taste of tragedy coming on July 3rd, 2014.

"I tried calling him and he didn't pick up. I rolled past the CVS and I saw the yellow tape and when you see that, you don't usually see that in my neighborhood. And it was just to the point where I knew something was wrong. He wasn't picking up his phone. Nobody was picking up their phone and I was like something just isn't right. So I slept on it," said Ford.

The next morning Ford received calls that Deandre Liggins was fatally shot.

Nearly a year later, Jarvis Shields and Devonte Hardison were shot and killed a month a part.

"One was a robbery inside of his house. The other one they found him behind an abandon building. And another one they tried to rob him at a CVS and killed him. So two robberies and one just murder," said Ford. "I couldn't even make my friend's wake. I couldn't even go to their funerals. It was just to the point where it really took a toll on me."

While dealing with these losses, Ford transferred to Texas A&M, just an hour from home where he re-lives the reality of his friends' deaths when seeing their parents who pass along a message of encouragement as he now chases his NFL dream.

"They wanted you to be here, do it for them. They put everything in place. They wanted to see you do good. That's all they wanted. They wanted to see me make it out and I did. It's one of those things where I think about it everyday. Look, I'm here in Buffalo. I graduated from college and I look up and think I did it and I did it for you all and I wanted you all to see that," said Ford.

Ford understands the challenge that faces him upon arriving at training camp but pulls from the words he still can hear his friends say.

"I will remember some of the things that they always told me. I'll remember the things that always stuck to me, especially when I go through hard times. When stuff gets tough, I remember their voices and I look up and I'll be like 'they don't want me to fail and I got to do it for them.'"