Coastal Carolina’s Isaiah Likely drafted by Baltimore in 4th round of NFL Draft

CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina’s Isaiah Likely was chosen by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2022 National Football League (NFL) Draft on Saturday afternoon.

With his selection as the 139th pick overall, Likely becomes the eighth Chanticleer to hear his name called in the NFL Draft.

An All-American in each of his last two years at CCU, Likely is the third-highest NFL draft pick in Coastal Carolina history behind Jerome Simpson in 2008 (2nd round – 46th pick) and Lorenzo Taliaferro in 2014 (4th round – 138th pick).

In 2021, Likely was named an All-America second-team performer by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF), the Pro Football Network (PFN), and the College Football All-SIS, while also picking up third-team recognition from the Pro Football Focus (PFF) and honorable mention honors From Phil Steele. He also earned PFF All-America second-team accolades as a junior in 2020.

A three-time member of the John Mackey Award watch list, the award given out annually to the nation’s best tight end, Likely was a semifinalist in 2021 while also picking up invitations to both the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl and the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl.

A three-time All-Sun Belt selection, earning first-team honors in both 2020 and 2021 after picking up third-team recognition in 2019, Likely also garnered all-conference honors from Phil Steele in each of the last three seasons, receiving first-team accolades in both 2020 and 2021, and second-team honors in 2019.

Named the Sun Belt Conference and Reese’s Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 11 and being tabbed a College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Honorable Mention Performer of the Week on Oct. 10 after his career game at Arkansas State (Oct. 7), Likely hauled in 59 catches for 912 yards and a team-leading 12 touchdowns in 2021. His 12 receiving touchdowns led the Sun Belt Conference, ranked eighth nationally, and were the second-most by a tight end in all of FBS.

His 912 receiving yards and 70.2 receiving yards per game average were both third in the Sun Belt, behind both Jalen Tolbert of South Alabama and teammate Jaivon Heiligh, and again were the second-most by a tight end in all of FBS.

In his four years on the “Surf Turf”, Likely caught 133 passes for 2,050 yards and 27 touchdowns. His 2,050 career receiving yards rank fifth all-time in CCU history and are the most by a tight end, while his 133 pass receptions rank sixth all-time. His 27 receiving touchdowns are the second-most in CCU history behind only Jerome Simpson’s 44 touchdowns, while his 15.4 yards per catch average ranks fifth all-time in CCU’s career record books.

In the Chanticleers’ 52-20 blowout win over Arkansas State (Oct. 7) last season, Likely set a single-game CCU record with four touchdown catches, set the second-highest mark in receiving yards by a Coastal player in a single game with 232 yards, and had a career-high eight catches on nine targets. His first catch of the game was a 99-yard touchdown catch, the longest pass completion in Coastal football history.