Luke Fortner (born May 15, 1998) is an American professional football center for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kentucky.
 Fortner with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022 | |||||||
| No. 79 – Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Center | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | May 15, 1998 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.[1] | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 307 lb (139 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Sylvania Northview (Sylvania, Ohio) | ||||||
| College: | Kentucky (2016–2021) | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022 / round: 3 / pick: 65 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024 | |||||||
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Early life
editFortner grew up in Sylvania, Ohio and attended Sylvania Northview High School. After Luke graduated Northview High School his successor on the offensive line happened to be his younger brother Matt. Some say Matt was the more talented one.[2]
College career
editFortner redshirted his true freshman season at Kentucky.[3] He appeared in eight games as a redshirt freshman.[4] Fortner played in 11 of Kentucky's 13 games during his redshirt sophomore season.[5] He became the Wildcats' starting left guard going into his redshirt junior season and started 13 games in 2019 and 10 in Kentucky's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. Fortner decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic and return to Kentucky for a sixth season.[6] He moved to center during fall training camp and was named first-team All-Southeastern Conference by the league's coaches.[7][8] Fortner graduated in May 2022 with three degrees: Bachelor's, master's in mechanical engineering, and MBA.[9]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+1⁄8 in (1.93 m) |
307 lb (139 kg) |
33+1⁄8 in (0.84 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
5.21 s | 1.77 s | 2.99 s | 4.95 s | 7.75 s | 29.0 in (0.74 m) |
8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
31 reps | |
| Sources:[10][11][12] | ||||||||||||
Fortner was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round, 65th overall, of the 2022 NFL draft.[13] He was named the Jaguars starting center as a rookie.
References
edit- ^ https://ukathletics.com/sports/football/roster/player/luke-fortner/ [bare URL]
- ^ "What Sylvania's Luke Fortner had to say during media availability at the NFL Combine". Toledo Blade. March 3, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "Kentucky Football: Offensive linemen 'ready to play anywhere'". The Courier-Journal. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "Kentucky football: Previewing offensive line for 2019 season". The Courier-Journal. July 28, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "From prospects to pros: 2022 NFL Draft résumé for Kentucky center Luke Fortner". Lexington Herald-Leader. April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "Fortner looks ahead to draft after strong final season at Kentucky". Toledo Blade. January 6, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ Clay, John (April 26, 2022). "NFL Draft scouts say Kentucky's Luke Fortner made the most of his sixth season". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "2022 NFL Draft: Top Interior Offensive Linemen". The San Diego Union-Tribune. April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ UK football player balancing NFL, engineering futures (video). WYMT. April 21, 2022.
- ^ "Luke Fortner Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Draft Scout Luke Fortner, Kentucky NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ "Luke Fortner 2022 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ Oehser, John (April 29, 2022). "No. 65 overall: Fortner is the selection". Jaguars.com.
External links
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