CHAMPAIGN — Luke Altmyer was a Mississippi kid, raised on SEC football.
Growing up, he didn’t have much of a grasp on Big Ten happenings. He certainly didn’t zero in on what Illinois tight end Cole Rusk, a Rock Island native and lifelong fan, recently dubbed “the dark days” of Illini football, those nine years before coach Bret Bielema when Illinois didn’t have a winning record — and plenty of other losing stretches before that.
But Altmyer, entering his third season as Illinois’ starting quarterback, has been in Champaign long enough now that he recognizes the preseason buzz the Illini are generating is rare territory for this program.
“I didn’t really have any presuppositions about the program and how they treated it,” Altmyer said, “but they’re passionate about their team, especially this year, understanding the history hasn’t been very full of wins and good seasons.
“So to have it come together and to see the excitement and see a lot of smiles on the fans’ faces, a lot of buzz and energy being accumulated for the season, it’s noticeable. And so it only makes us want to do really cool things and special things for them.”
The Illini are coming off a 10-win season for the first time in 23 years after their Citrus Bowl victory over South Carolina. They’re ranked No. 12 in both the preseason Associated Press and coaches polls, the first time since 1990 they’ve started a season in the top 15 in either poll.
And in the era of the transfer portal, with some players bouncing from school to school each year, they have a three-year starting quarterback who has been named to multiple preseason award watch lists. Several national outlets, including USA Today and The Athletic, ranked Altmyer as the second-best Big Ten quarterback behind Penn State’s Drew Allar, also a third-year starter.
Altmyer often references his faith when talking about his football journey and makes a point of operating with humility. But he’s also not shying away from the expectations.
The preseason hype? It didn’t happen by chance, he said. The Illini earned it with their 2024 season. They believe they belong among the nation’s top teams.
And after a breakout season in 2024, Altmyer believes he belongs too.
“I’m so confident and convicted that I’ll be such a better player from last year to this year, even more than from 2023 to 2024,” he said. “I think I’ll have a bigger jump in 2025 because of the work I’ve put in.
“I’m doing everything I can. I’m exhausting all my gifts — physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally — to be my best. So I’m expecting success because I’m giving my very best every single day.”
‘The right thing’
Bielema wasn’t worried.
He told reporters in April that he had “0.0” concern that Altmyer would leave for another school as the offseason unfolded, though he had wondered whether the NFL draft would be alluring.
“When you know Luke and you work with Luke and you’re around Luke, his intentionality to his purpose is really, really high,” Bielema said then. “And he puts a premium on people.”
Still, given the way Altmyer progressed in 2024 — and the nature of today’s college sports world — plenty of outside speculation swirled around the quarterback’s home for 2025.
In leading Illinois to a 10-3 record, Altmyer completed 60.8% of his passes for 2,717 yards and 22 touchdowns with six interceptions. He also rushed for 217 yards and four touchdowns. And he had three winning touchdown passes in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime — to add to two winning field-goal drives in 2023. His performance earned him All-Big Ten honorable mention.
Altmyer tried to put any fan worries to rest early. On Dec. 14, he announced his return to Champaign in 2025 at the Illini basketball game against Tennessee at the State Farm Center.
He took the microphone during a timeout and told a cheering, sellout crowd: “I love it here. I don’t know how I would ever leave. I’m just so excited for next season.”
The announcement didn’t stop the frequent questions, including rumors in the spring that he could be headed to Tennessee after former Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA.
Altmyer said this month during Illinois training camp it would have been easy to seek “instant gratification” and make national headlines with an offseason transfer and big payday. But he believed what he has at Illinois will serve him well. He affirmed his commitment in April, posting a video of himself on social media in an Illini uniform with the words, “Keep the Champaign flowing.”
“I’ve earned a lot of trust and leadership here, and I had no reason to pick up and go somewhere else,” he said. “Something’s being created here that is bigger than myself, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted to be a part of. So there was a lot of uncertainty if I were to pick up and move, and it was just not the right thing for me.
“If I do what I know I can do here, I can create a long career in the NFL. That’s what I believe and I’m convicted in it. I know I’m gifted and I know I can be a great player here with this staff and these players. …. It was the right thing holistically. So, yeah, I wake up assured of that every single day.”
A more confident leader
When Altmyer reflects on his arrival in Champaign as a transfer from Ole Miss in 2023, he sees a different person. The Starkville, Miss., native had spent two seasons as a backup for the Rebels, making one start.
Illinois gave him a second chance, but his 2023 season had its own challenges. He threw for 1,883 yards and 13 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in nine starts. When he suffered a concussion in early November, he spent the final three games on the bench as the Illini turned to John Paddock. Illinois finished the season 5-7.
“I came in as a shy little kid who didn’t know who he was,” Altmyer said. “I’ve just blossomed totally into someone who’s super confident because I know who my creator and savior is. And, man, these coaches and these players in this place have brought the best to me. I’m just so excited to keep on doing the right things every single day, walking with a lot of prudence and humility to be my best, use my gifts.”
Altmyer credits much of his confidence to being comfortable in his faith. He described himself as “freed up because I know the right things in life and what matters most.” And he’s trying to use that changed outlook to lift his team.
His teammates say he has grown in his leadership over the last two years. He’s more vocal. The way he carries himself feels different. He seems more comfortable.
“To see that confidence and swagger develop throughout the season was huge, just as a man and as a leader,” Rusk said. “I think that all comes from his faith. He grew in his faith a lot this past year, and I think that’s been huge to his success.”
When Altmyer talked about his legacy at Illinois recently, he didn’t mention his stats or potentially leading the Illini to a College Football Playoff berth, though that’s certainly a goal.
Instead he talked about setting a good example for his younger teammates in the quarterback room. “A legacy of good faith, of good character,” he said.
Both Bielema and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Barry Lunney Jr. mentioned how Altmyer is intentional — about both his detailed work and the relationships he tries to build on the team. That extends to how he wants to be remembered at Illinois.
“(Other) people are going to come in and play really good quarterback play here, and people are going to forget me,” Altmyer said. “But I think my character and the tradition that I leave of good faith will stick.”
In an ideal world, that approach would lead to an impact on the field too.
‘In complete command’
The national hype for Illinois goes beyond Altmyer.
The Illini return 16 starters from last season, including All-Big Ten honorees such as cornerback Xavier Scott, outside linebacker Gabe Jacas and left tackle J.C. Davis. The latter is part of an offensive line that returns all five starters.
Altmyer’s success — and the Illini’s — will rely in part on how he connects with a revamped group of wide receivers tasked with replacing Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin.
Bryant, a third-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos this spring, had 54 catches for 984 yards and 10 touchdowns last year. Franklin had 55 catches for 652 yards and four scores.
Now Altmyer has to deepen his connections with players such as Hank Beatty and Collin Dixon, who each topped 250 receiving yards in 2024, Simeon grad Malik Elzy and transfers Hudson Clement and Justin Bowick.
Altmyer understands through his own experience how confidence issues and the challenges of understanding the game can affect young players, so he has tried to offer encouragement and perspective.
“Since we have such a young receiver room and Luke is going to be a returning three-year starter, he brings a lot of knowledge and familiarity with the program,” said Beatty, a senior. “Seeing him lift up some of the younger guys and lead them and keep going to them, instilling confidence in them, has been a huge thing.”
Said Dixon, a redshirt sophomore: “The way he holds everybody to the standard and brings the floor up, it makes everything run so well. Nobody can really lag. Luke’s been such a good leader because he’s holding everybody to the standard he sets.”
Altmyer’s personal standard is to “tighten up” every piece of his game. He wants to improve his body control, his strength and his footwork. Along with a heightened understanding of the game and confidence, he hopes that takes his success to a new level.
Lunney said he has been “really sharp” during camp.
“I’m really pleased with what he’s looked like and the improvements there,” Lunney said. “The intentionality he has with just the fundamentals and the details of the position, and then just the overall command of the offense, he’s in complete command of that right now.”
Bielema also is pleased with how Altmyer has handled the preseason hype, noting a speech the quarterback gave to the team that demonstrated his humility.
Bielema said at the beginning of camp he has approached the outside expectations with his players by reminding them of some of the close games they pulled out in 2024, including a one-point overtime win over a Purdue team that finished 1-11. The difference between a win and a loss in the Big Ten is sometimes razor thin, and the Illini need to understand what could happen if they don’t put in the work.
There’s no indication Altmyer will forget that. But if he does?
“We have a bunch of guys that love to give people a hard time, so I think if he gets too high, everybody’s going to be willing to pitch in and do their best to knock him off,” Bielema joked.
Altmyer is doing his best to walk the line between confidence in his game and the knowledge he can’t let up — if he wants to keep Champaign buzzing.
“You can see this as pressure, man, but we just see it as such an opportunity to do something really, really cool for the university and for ourselves that we’ve always dreamed about doing,” Altmyer said. “We love it, we asked for it and we’re excited for it.”
