#82

Luke Ford

TE · Illinois · Sr. · #82

Illinois 2022 alumnus
This season's coverage starts August 26 — check back once kickoff hits.

Luke Ford

TE · Illinois · Sr · #82

Limited signal — not enough coverage for a story yet.

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
No recruit profile
CFB
College
Illinois
2021–2022
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2021Illinois5-7HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning
2022Illinois8-5HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning

Career stats

SeasonTeam
2022Illinois10888.80--
2021Illinois151147.62--
Career252028.12--

How he plays

Play style

Shows up in the passing game from any alignment.

CFB Index positional classification

DNA match

Player DNA

Complete TE

No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.

TE

His 2022 production profile sits closest to Travis Vokolek’s 2021 season.

Nebraska · 2021

#2

Moliki Matavao

Oregon · 2021

NFL Rd 7
65%
#3

Jacob Warren

Tennessee · 2022

60%
#4

Luke Deal

Auburn · 2021

60%
#5

Luke Ford

Illinois · 2021

60%

Matches Travis on

Reception volume
Total EPA (college ability)
EPA / play (adj)

Differs from Travis on

Height (lower)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Nick Miles's junior season at Wyoming (2024).

Nick Miles

79%match

Wyoming · 2024

#2

Cam McCormick

Miami · 2023

76%
#3

Jacob Warren

Tennessee · 2022

74%
#4

Dakota Twitty

Virginia · 2025

73%
#5

Benji Gosnell

Virginia Tech · 2025

71%

Matches Nick on

Total EPA (college ability)
Height
Yards / reception

Development

Development Trajectory · receiving yards

2021–2022
1142021
88.02022

-23%

Sharp dropoff (-23%) — career inflection point.