Illinois made a big impression on Luke Ford during his initial recruitment, but ultimately, the 4-star Carterville (Ill.) tight end chose national power Georgia over a final five that also included Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M and Illinois.

But a year later, that relationship has paid off for the Illini. Ford will transfer from Georgia to Illinois after one season in Athens, he announced on Friday. Georgia released him from his national letter of intent Friday afternoon.

Illinois on Tuesday officially announced Ford signed a financial tender of aid.

"Luke Ford was the top-rated recruit in the state of Illinois his senior year and we worked very hard in developing a great relationship during his recruitment," Illini head coach Lovie Smith said in a statement. "It's not unusual for athletes wanting to be near home so that family members are close by, and we are extremely happy that Luke felt Illinois was the place for him to attend school and play football after making the decision to transfer. He is a very skilled tight end with terrific size and athleticism who can play every down as both a pass catcher and blocker. Luke has an outstanding family and we look forward to them joining our football family. We know Luke is very close to his grandparents and this should allow them much easier access to his games. We will work with Luke and his family in

Ford, who has three years of eligibility remaining, likely will apply for a waiver to receive immediate eligibility. If he doesn't receive one, he must sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules.

Ford was the No. 51 overall prospect in the Class of 2018. He was the No. 3 tight end in the country and the top prospect in the state of Illinois. The 6-foot-6, 252-pound sophomore will immediately be the most talented tight end on the Illini roster.

Ford, who has been in the NCAA transfer portal the last few weeks, told reporters after Georgia's Sugar Bowl loss that he was heavily contemplating a transfer to Illinois.

“A lot of schools reached out to me,” Ford said. “Most all of them that offered me before. I’m only looking at Illinois. My grandfather is the one who got me playing football. It’ll be easier on him, but also my uncles, my aunts, family members, everybody, to come to my games.

"With my grandpa getting more and more sick, I want him to see a couple of games. It's hard for him to make a 10-hour drive or flight or something like that. I want my family members to come to all my games. That would be the reason I would transfer, but it's nothing against UGA or anything like that. I love all the coaches here. I love the players here. I have a great time here. I love UGA. It's just family-wise."

Ford is the second premier transfer addition for Illinois this winter. Miami wide receiver transfer Jeff Thomas will enroll at Illinois this winter. Ford also announced his transfer just a day after Illinois landed a commitment from 4-star linebacker Shammond Cooper, who played in the Under Armour All-America Game with two Illini signees who are top-110 prospects: QB Isaiah Williams and DB Marquez Beason.

As a true freshman, Ford played in all 13 games for Georgia but mostly on special teams. He caught just one pass for four yards.

Ford visited Illinois multiple times during the spring and summer of 2017. The Illini were his first unofficial visit, and he considered committing after the visit. But he then visited Arkansas and quickly committed to the Razorbacks. Then Ford blew up with premier offers, including Alabama and Georgia.

Yet, he still returned for a July unofficial visit to Illinois.

"I feel it stacked up well with all the other visits, honestly," Ford said in July 2017. "It was a great time. I always love talking to the coaching staff at Illinois. I love showing my friends around. They treated them like gold. That means a lot to me too. If I were to make a top-five, I'd see Illinois being in my top-five. I loved the visit."

Illinois was one of the first power-five programs to offer Ford, and the Carterville kid was the first 2018 prospect Lovie Smith visited last spring. The Illini head coach hopped on a private plane to the Marion (Ill.) airport to see Ford first thing in the morning on the first day of the spring evaluation period.

"I have a really good relationship with Illinois; I'm close with all of them," Ford said in 2017. "I don't know if I could say that another coaching staff is closer. Maybe the Georgia coaching staff, the Texas coaching staff. They're right up there. It's all the same, but the Illinois coaching staff is really high up there relationship-wise."

But since Ford has his choice of blue bloods, he needs to see more from the Illini -- on the field, and Illinois ended up going 2-10 and 0-9 in the Big Ten.

But with Rod Smith, the Illini offense took a big step forward. Yet, it got little production from its tight ends due to Lou Dorsey's suspension and eventual transfer from the team. This fall, Illinois tight ends combined for just 11 receptions, 98 yards and one touchdown.

But Ford is just the type of elite talent the Illini sorely need to boost production at the position.