Covering the Land of Lincoln

Illini tight end Luke Ford declares for NFL Draft

CHAMPAIGN — Illinois tight end Luke Ford has announced he’s entering the NFL Draft, he announced via social media on Tuesday.

“I’d like to thank Illini nation, my coaches, my teammates and most of all my family,” Ford wrote on social media. “It is now time for me to transition into the next chapter of my life and I am officially declaring for the NFL!”

Ford had one more year of eligibility remaining. Ford in three seasons at Illinois had 27 receptions for 217 yards and two touchdowns while showing himself to be a plus-blocker at tight end. According to Pro Football Focus, Ford had a 74.2 pass-blocking grade, which is second-best on the team among players who had at least 30 pass-blocking snaps. He had a 48.2 run-blocking grade.

He had 10 receptions for 88 yards this season with a long of 18 yards this season. During the 2021 season, he had a career-high 15 receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

Ford played 32 games for Illinois during the last two seasons since transferring from Georgia following the 2018 season. Ford is a former top-100 prospect, who was the No. 51 overall prospect and no. 1 in-state prospect in the Class of 2018.

Ford considered entering the 2022 NFL Draft and received feedback that he’d be a late-round draft pick or be a priority undrafted free agent, but he decided to return to Illinois for a fifth season of college to try and raise his NFL Draft stock . He played this season for new offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr., who recruited — and landed a commitment — from Ford while at Arkansas before Ford decommitted and ultimately landed at Georgia.

“I was excited to start an NFL career and try to take my chances out there and see where I could go in the draft and what rounds and stuff,” Ford said prior to the season. “I trust this staff. Coach talked to me and then Coach Lunney came. I was close, but I wanted to come back and I wanted to make this place better than I found it. I love this state. I love these fans. I wanted to do it again.

“It just kind of comes back to how I trust these coaches. So, I believe I want to go for gold. If the NFL is telling me and the grades I got back are telling me these are the things I need to improve on then those are the things I want to improve on. I want to go into the draft to get the best I can because that’s a one-time thing. With this new hire and the previous history, it was an easy decision.”

Illinois also wants a loose tight end Michael Marchese, who is out of eligibility. The Illini return Tip Reiman (17 receptions for 156 yards and 1 touchdown), Griffin Moore, along with redshirt freshmen Henry Boyer, Owen Anderson and Naivyan Cargill. Tanner Arkin, a transfer from Colorado State, announced his commitment to Illinois earlier this month and the Illini have a commitment from Nathan Guinn in the Class of 2023.

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