Luke Ford has had a rough start to his college career.

After transferring from Georgia to Illinois to be closer to his grandparents, he was denied immediate eligibility in 2019. In 2020, he played in 8 games, but only recorded 2 catches for 15 yards.

But, now, he’s back on the field and the former 4-star recruit wasted no time making an impact for the Illinois offense. As you can see below, Ford picked up a first down on the Illini’s first play from scrimmage against Nebraska on Saturday afternoon:

After that catch, he’s already eclipsed his 2020 yardage total. It looks like the Illini plan to make him a bigger part of the offense this fall.