Bryce Ford-Wheaton Details Conquering Adversity, Journey to Finding Spot on Giants

Former Mountaineer Bryce Ford-Wheaton saw his season end before it could even get started in 2023. Ford-Wheaton’s NFL journey experienced major adversity when he suffered an ACL tear in his first training camp.

But now with the 2024 season about to get underway and after landing a roster spot with the New York Giants, Ford-Wheaton is ready to finally show what he can do at the NFL level.

As part of a conversation with Patricia Traina of New York Giants on SI, Ford-Wheaton talked about his journey back to the field and using specials teams to stand out in training camp.

“When I tore my ACL, Joe and Dabs (Giants head coach Brian Daboll) came up to me in the locker room and told me they’re gonna work with me, they’re gonna keep me here,” said Ford-Wheaton.

The ex WVU star wide receiver, who signed with the Giants after going undrafted in 2023, tried to put a positive spin on the situation.

“It was a blessing ’cause I could be here, keep going to meetings, be around the guys every, every week and every day. So it was really helpful. It was kind of almost like a rush. I just kind of developed as a person, and my character improved from being thrown curve balls and having to overcome adversity,” Ford-Wheaton said. “Until that point, I didn’t have much to overcome.”

Image credit to New York Giants

Understanding he will still have to wait his turn before being able to make an impact offensively, Ford-Wheaton detailed his current mindset heading into his actual rookie season.

“I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, taking it day by day,” he said. “It’s a long process, but all you can do is attack each day and rehab. So it’s kind of what I did, and it got the results that I wanted.”

He even credited his coaches at West Virginia for helping prepare him for the next level of football in the NFL.

“I got to credit my coaches at West Virginia for making me do all the special teams stuff regardless if I was actually playing in the game. I kind of developed a niche for that in college,” said Ford-Wheaton.

“And then when I came here, a lot of the same stuff translated. Speed is one thing I have always had, and being bigger than most people is something I’ve been my whole life. So I think it translates over having good coaches to kind of bring it out of you.”

Ford-Wheaton spent four seasons at WVU under head coach Neal Brown. The 6-foot-4 athlete recorded 1,867 receiving yards and scored 15 touchdowns in a span of 38 career games for the Mountaineers. Ford-Wheaton completed his senior season with 62 catches and 675 yards. In 2022, Ford-Wheaton was second in the Big 12 in receiving touchdowns with seven. Despite his impressive testing numbers at the NFL Combine, especially his time in the 40-yard dash, the WVU wide receiver product was not drafted.

Find more coverage of Bryce Ford-Wheaton at WV Sports Now.