Luke Farrell is joining Urban Meyer in Jacksonville.
Farrell, who spent the past five years as an Ohio State tight end, was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 145 overall pick, the first pick of the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, on Saturday.
.@LukeFarrell89 is headed to Jacksonville!
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) May 1, 2021
Watch the #NFLDraft on @nflnetwork#GoBuckeyes #DevelopedHere pic.twitter.com/Bg0ih6Q6L3
He's the first Buckeye tight end drafted since Nick Vannett went to the Seattle Seahawks in the third round in 2016. He follows Justin Fields, Pete Werner, Josh Myers, Wyatt Davis, Trey Sermon, Baron Browning and Tommy Togiai as the eighth Buckeye selected in this year's draft.
Farrell joins three other former Ohio State players on the Jaguars' roster: DaVon Hamilton, Carlos Hyde and Andrew Norwell. He's the first Buckeye to be drafted by Meyer, who recruited him to Ohio State and coached him for his first three seasons as a Buckeye.
“I know that Coach Meyer knows what I'm capable of, and what my game is, and I know that whatever they ask me to do, I'm gonna do to the best of my ability,” Farrell said after being picked. “It's definitely really familiar getting that phone call, similar to a phone call I got when I was a sophomore in high school. Just really surreal, coming full circle from there.”
Farrell said the call informing him the Jaguars were drafting him came from Ryan Stamper, who served as Ohio State's director of player development for Farrell's entire career with the Buckeyes before joining Meyer's staff in January.
Farrell, who some NFL scouts considered to be the best blocking tight end in the draft according to Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, comes into the league with a clear role to fill. Coming from Perry, he never got – or sought – much acclaim but took care of his job enough that he was the only offensive player to grade out as a champion every single game until the national championship last season.
Across his career, the 6-foot-6, 258-pounder recorded 34 catches for 380 yards and four touchdowns, while he was also a core special teams player.
Hes a Player Dan - all you gotta do is watch the tape - every game for three years. One of the best Ive coached.
— Kevin Wilson (@OSUCoachKDub) May 1, 2021
Great player - Job Well Done!!
Go Bucks!! #DevelopedHere https://t.co/GQ2tUAxK2g
Farrell was largely given undrafted grades despite his prowess as a blocker. The Athletic's Dane Brugler rated him as the 23rd-best tight end in his class, and ESPN's Todd McShay listed him as the No. 17 tight end and the 313th overall prospect.
