Luke Fortner was hesitant at first about returning for what would be his sixth season with the University of Kentucky football team, but he eventually reconsidered.
Fortner wanted to finish his third — yes, third — degree.
And he wanted to improve his NFL draft stock.
Check and check.
“It’s helped me out tremendously,” Fortner said.
The Northview graduate this season became a first team all-conference performer in the best conference in college football. He worked his way to becoming one of the top centers in the nation and now is looking ahead to the pre-draft process, starting with the East-West Shrine Game on Feb. 3.
Fortner (6-foot-6, 300 pounds) started 23 consecutive games at guard, but after star center Drake Jackson left for the NFL last year, Kentucky was in need of a new leader of the line, and Fortner won the job.
“We felt like he was the guy that was smart enough that could do it, but also give us a physical presence that we needed right there at the point of attack,” Kentucky offensive line coach Eric Wolford said. “Your center is kind of like the quarterback of the offensive line. They make all the calls. They get everybody on the same page. They're your leader, and Luke obviously fits that mold.”
The position transition paid off.
After his first game at center this past fall, he was named the Southeastern Conference’s co-offensive lineman of the week.
He didn’t let up. Fortner was named to the All-Southeastern Conference first team by the conference’s coaches. He allowed only one sack and four pressures in 390 pass-blocking snaps during the regular season. Pro Football Focus graded him at 84.9 for run blocking and 83.9 for pass blocking — both considered very strong.
Fortner in October was added to the watch list for the Rimington Trophy (nation’s best center).
“He's more what the NFL wants these days in a zone blocking type of lineman,” Pro Football Network draft analyst Tony Pauline said. “I always thought he was crazy underrated to begin with. He got barely [undrafted] free agent grades coming into the season, but he's got good length, he's got some growth potential, and he moves well, which are three good things for an offensive lineman.”
Fortner said it was vital to show he can play multiple positions at a high level.
“It not only helps my own game, but helps the game of the team and improves the team's ability to win games,” said Fortner, who has earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, and will graduate in May with a master’s of business administration.
Wolford, who spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers, believes Fortner elevated his stock to the third or fourth round.
Pauline has him as a sixth-round prospect, but with room to climb ahead of the draft.
“If he tests really well and his testing numbers are as athletic as he looks on the field, could he go earlier? Yes,” Pauline said. “Especially if teams project him to center. It is a very weak center class, so if teams feel that he's gonna slide into center, he could be drafted earlier.”
Fortner was a three-star recruit out of Northview, where he was a four-year starter in football and also flashed his athleticism on the basketball court.
Northview boys basketball coach Jeremy McDonald was in his first year with the Wildcats and remembers Fortner thriving in a leadership role.
“He's very selfless,” McDonald said. “He's all about everybody else, not only wanting his teammates to succeed, but wanting to help his teammates succeed. We had a sophomore post player that year that had a lot of potential, and Luke really took him under his wing, and that's what an offensive lineman does. His job is to protect the quarterback, and I think just his personality, he's a natural protector.”
Following the East-West Shrine Game next month, Fortner will participate in the NFL Combine in March.
His decision to come back gave him a big push forward.
“He's elevated himself to a draftable prospect. In some scouts’ eyes, they view him as a starter next year in the NFL, which is a huge compliment to him,” Wolford said. “He has tremendous work ethic. He's a student of the game. He has toughness. He has all the intangibles, all the characteristics, all the traits, of a guy that could have a very successful career in the National Football League.”
First Published January 6, 2022, 1:00 p.m.
