Expecting to hear his name called between the second and fourth rounds of the NFL Draft, Larry Warford was planning to forgo the watch parties potential draftees typically attend. Nervous and excited to learn of his new team and home, Warford simply wanted to pass the time the best way he knew how.”My dad wants me to come down and have a party with the family and all that but I kind of don’t want to do anything for it,” Warford said on Tuesday. “I kind of just want to sit at my house and play video games.”For this, Larry Warford was happy to put down the controller.The Detroit Lions selected Warford in the third round (No. 65 overall), making the star offensive guard the highest-picked Kentucky player since Randall Cobb in 2011 and second-highest in a decade. Warford is the first UK offensive lineman to be chosen in the draft since both Todd Perry and Chuck Bradley were selected in 1993.If the Lions are right about him, Warford will be playing for a long time.”Warford was made to play guard in the NFL,” Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said in a press conference after Detroit selected Warford.Warford is expected to compete for a starting spot immediately on a team that ranked 23rd in the league in total rushing yards in 2012. According to NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock, Warford is more than capable of winning the job.”This is one of my favorite football players in the draft, Larry Warford from Kentucky,” Mayock said. “And you want to talk about a big, square, stout son of a gun, this is him.”Every tape I put on he was dominant.”Making that all the more impressive in the competition Warford was facing on a weekly basis. He credited going head-to-head with the Southeastern Conference’s top defensive tackles for preparing him for the next level and his performance against them caught the eye of ESPN’s Todd McShay.”This guy has faced some big-time defensive linemen and he won the vast majority of his one-on-one battles,” McShay said. “He is a phone-booth player. He’s gonna get into the pads of defensive linemen and once he’s locked on, forget about it.”Warford did not allow a sack during his senior season en route to receiving All-SEC honors for the third year in a row. All his accolades – which include a third-team AP All-America nod – make him one of the most decorated linemen in school history. At the next level, he only figures to build on his Wildcat legacy.”I just want to represent my university,” Warford said. “It’s a great place I’ve had so much fun and I have gotten a lot out of it and to represent UK in the draft it means everything to me. This is something that I really have been wanting to do and take a lot of pride in.”

Long wait well worth it Crazy excited about my new family!!! LIONS!!!!!!!

— Larry Warford (@wardaddy_67) April 27, 2013

#BBN it’s been fun and thank you for everything!!!#BleedBlue4Ever

— Larry Warford (@wardaddy_67) April 27, 2013