Tom Brady's niece Maya has a heartwarming message for Kyle Ford after USC triumph over Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl

USC wide receiver Kyle Ford put the icing on the cake in the Trojans' 35-31 comeback win in the Las Vegas Bowl to beat the Texas A&M Aggies with 12 seconds remaining. He has been plagued by injuries throughout his stay in Southern California and after scoring the winning touchdown, he became emotional.

After the game, Tom Brady's niece, UCLA Bruins softball star Maya Brady, posted a heartwarming message for Ford on her Instagram stories.

"Prayed for this. I adore you @ky1e_ford," Maya wrote.

Brady's IG stories (image credit: instagram/mayabrady)

During his postgame news conference, Ford revealed that he had picked up USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava after he had thrown three interceptions in the first half before hitting him for his game-winning TD.

“He’s (Maiava) just so hard on himself,” Ford said. “That’s why he’s so great. But sometimes, he needs a pick-me-up here and there. I was like, ‘Jayden better throw this damn ball.' My journey hasn’t been exactly easy. This is just a testament to just how hard I worked and persevered through it. It all hit me at once.”

Kyle Ford has had an up-and-down USC career

After he was recruited by USC as a five-star prospect in the Class of 2019, Kyle Ford played in Southern California for four seasons including Lincoln Riley's first campaign. Ford also played with Caleb Williams when he won the Heisman Trophy in 2022.

Last year, he entered the transfer portal and joined the UCLA Bruins where he played for one season before returning to the Trojans for his final year of eligibility. During an interview with 247Sports in November, Ford shared his goals for the end of the season.

"It's never how you start, it's how you finish," Ford said. "I just want to finish off strong, help the team as much as I can. Everything that you do out there isn't always on a stat sheet, and you sometimes don't see that. And that's fine. I came to contribute.

"Contribute doesn't mean I have to have 7,000 yards, all this and that. It means I just want to help this team win games, and I feel like I've been doing a good job of that, and then hopefully that does translate, and set a good example for the rest of these years coming."

With Ford scoring the winning touchdown in the Las Vegas Bowl on Friday, he ended his college football career in style.