A Baylor Jeep. An Oklahoma State football scholarship. How Josh Ford flipped allegiance.

STILLWATER — Before he arrived on the Oklahoma State campus for his first unofficial recruiting visit, Josh Ford’s family reputation had preceded him.

“You’re the people with the Baylor Jeep,” someone commented.

And yes, for Stillwater folks who have noticed the beaming yellow Jeep rolling around town with green Baylor logos on the side, that’s the Ford family. At least for now.

With Ford set to sign his National Letter of Intent with the Cowboy football program Wednesday morning, his father, Ray Ford, knows he has two options.

Sell his Jeep or paint it orange.

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“When we met with (OSU coach Mike) Gundy, I popped off and told him if he gave Josh a scholarship, I’d paint it orange,” Ray said with a laugh.

“Gundy told us he had a good paint guy,” added Josh’s mother, J.J.

A little over a year ago, Gundy extended the offer, and Josh — a 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end at Stillwater High — committed soon after.

Ray, of course, is the key reason the family has such a vehicle. He played defensive end at Baylor under legendary coach Grant Teaff in the early 1990s and his passion for the Bears carried over to Josh, the youngest of the family’s five children.

The family moved to Stillwater when Josh was 10 years old, and his Baylor fandom stuck out surrounded by America’s brightest orange.

But before long, he made his first trip to Boone Pickens Stadium.

“I went to a spring game, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty legit,’” Ford said. “Started going to a lot of OSU games and my views started to turn.”

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Then he watched several of his Stillwater teammates head down the road to play for the Pokes, and his love of OSU grew even more.

Now, he’ll be joined by three other Pioneers, Talon Kendrick and twin brothers Heston and Holden Thompson, all of whom are set to play for the Cowboys as walk-ons.

“It’s awesome that we get to continue to be teammates for another four years,” Kendrick said. “It’s really cool that we’ll get to play at Boone Pickens, a place we’ve always looked up to and continue to chase our dreams.”

For Ford, his opportunity at OSU is an extension of a family tradition of college football. Not only did his father play at Baylor, his older brother played at Sterling College in Kansas.

Josh has uncles who played at Texas and TCU, and his grandfather played at SMU.

“It’s a family legacy, but I’ve always stressed to Josh that I didn’t want him to feel pressure to play football,” Ray said. “Growing up, I told him it was fine if he wanted to be in the band or anything else, but I could not keep him away from the ball.”

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Josh wasn’t allowed to play football until sixth grade, and then, his parents put him on a flag team. But that was a short-lived experiment.

“We knew in flag football that the non-contact thing was not gonna work out for him,” Ray said. “He just kept running over people. We had to apologize to parents for that.”

So in seventh grade, Josh finally got to put on the pads and play tackle football, never looking back.

“I tried soccer and stuff, but nothing really clicked,” said Josh, who is set to enroll at OSU on Jan. 10 and be on campus for spring practice. “But football really did. I just loved it more than anything.”

And while his journey is taking him only a few miles away, it feels like a lifetime’s journey.

“A lot of things aren’t gonna be new to me,” Josh said. “The campus isn’t new. The football games aren’t new. But you’re not inside, and that’s gonna be the real game-changer.

“My first step of my first practice, it’s gonna be a completely different view, and I just can’t wait for it.”

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Oklahoma State 2024 recruiting class

Here’s a look at the players committed to Oklahoma State for football in the class of 2024:

• Name, Position, Height, Weight, Hometown (School)

• Jonathan Agumadu, LB, 6-1, 220, McKinney, Texas

• Jaden Allen-Hendrix, RB, 6-2, 225, Columbia, South Carolina (Irmo)

• Landyn Cleveland, S, 6-0, 185, Mansfield, Texas (Legacy)

• Rodney Fields, RB, 5-9, 187, Del City

• Josh Ford, TE, 6-6, 250, Stillwater

• Tre Griffiths, WR, 6-3, 205, Keller, Texas

• Caleb Hackleman, OL, 6-6, 275, Texarkana, Texas (Pleasant Grove)

• Chauncey Johnson, OL, 6-4, 295, Lonoke, Arkansas

• Temerrick Johnson, OLB/DE, 6-3, 205, Midlothian, Texas (Heritage)

• David Kabongo, S, 5-11, 180, Trophy Club, Texas (Byron Nelson)

• Nuku Mafi, OL, 6-4, 295, Salt Lake City (West)

• Willie Nelson, DB, 5-9, 170, Longview, Texas

• Armstrong Nnodim, DL, 6-2, 250, Mesquite, Texas (Horn)

• Maealiuaki Smith, QB, 6-4, 210, San Mateo, California (Junipero Serra)

• Luke Webb, DE, 6-3, 280, Deer Park, Texas

• Gunnar Wilson, LB, 6-2, 210, Melissa, Texas

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football commit Josh Ford ditches Baylor fandom for OSU