Illinois recruit Logan Farrell eager for some football

Is Illinois recruit Logan Farrell ready for some football?

After missing his senior season at Hersey, the answer is an emphatic yes.

Farrell is the consensus No. 18 senior in Illinois and the No. 36 tight end nationally in his class, according to 247Sports. He was looking forward to being a prime target for UCLA-bound quarterback Colton Gumino last fall.

But it all went sideways during a seven-on-seven event last summer when he dislocated his left kneecap, broke his femur and tore his ACL and several other ligaments.

Farrell stayed involved with Huskies football by operating a drone used to shoot video of practices. And he returned to competition this spring as a thrower for the Hersey track and field team, winning the Class 3A discus title with an effort of 196 feet, 10.5 inches and taking sixth in the shot put.

Now, after a family vacation, he’ll be heading to Champaign to resume his football career with a new perspective on the sport and on life.

“I’m hungry, man,” Farrell said after picking up his state track and field medals on May 31. “Looking back on it, as tough as it was, it might have been one of the most beneficial things for kind of how I view the game and just kind of my mentality going forward — about just being grateful and lucky for every opportune moment every time you’re stepping on that field.”

Farrell originally committed to North Carolina but switched to Illinois. The Fighting Illini coaches stuck with him throughout his recovery, something he won’t forget.

“Coach [Bret] Bielema and the entire staff still believed in me,” Farrell said. “They gave me complete reassurance and told me I was going to be back.”

Farrell, a 6-3, 260-pounder, still wears a brace to stabilize his left leg.

“I didn’t know if my knee was going to be back [healthy] in time to do track,” Farrell said. “But I started throwing at the very end of indoor [season].”

He competed in the Illinois Top Times Indoor Championship and was the 3A runner-up in the shot put there. Farrell finished his prep career at outdoor state with a personal best in the shot and the state title in the discus.

After missing the football season, Farrell channeled all his energy into getting bigger and stronger for track and field. He competed at around 260 pounds, up 25 from last spring.

“I’ve put so much food into my face over the last three months,” he said. “I’m gonna have to get down to the lean line down in Champaign, probably get back to 245 to play my season.”

Farrell has talked with Illinois coaches about how he might be used.

“Kind of similar to their guy Tanner Arkin right now,” Farrell said. “Able to do a little bit of everything, just being too athletic for outside linebackers and too big for safeties. Just being a dual threat for . . . blocking and [receiving].”

Whether Farrell makes his Illini debut this fall or takes a redshirt year remains to be decided,

“I’ve been so focused on track, I haven’t really thought about it that much,” he said. “But I know Chase [Louthan, Illinois’ assistant athletic trainer for football] and coach Bielema said that they’re not gonna rush me into anything. And we’re just going to kind of play it by how I feel and how they think I’m going to do.”

In the meantime, Farrell is a state champion.

"I feel like it's a lot of hard work in the dark, and people just don't see it," he said. "This is the benefit that I reaped from that."