Former Starkville high school quarterback Luke Altmyer was named the starting quarterback at the University of Illinois on Monday. Altmyer transferred to Illinois from Ole Miss in December.
“We’ll announce today Luke Altmyer will be our starting quarterback going into the Toledo game,” Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said in a press conference on Monday. “Last spring through this fall, I’ve been very impressed with the quarterback room in general.”
Altmyer beat out senior transfer John Paddock and redshirt freshman Donovan Leary for the starting role, after a heated competition during spring practice and fall camp. There are high expectations in Champaign to build on a better-than-anticipated 2022 season, and Altmyer now carries those with a re-tooled offense.
Altmyer was a four-star prospect coming out of Starkville High School, and was ranked as the the No. 118 overall recruit in the class of 2021 with offers from Alabama and Florida State, among many other Division I programs, before he committed to Ole Miss.
Altmyer featured prominently in Ole Miss’ 2022 Sugar Bowl loss to Baylor after starter Matt Corral left with an injury early in the game. He competed against USC transfer Jaxson Dart for the starting job last season but ultimately lost out, entering the transfer portal and committing to Illinois in the December window.
A few months after Altmyer’s arrival came the commitment of current Jacket starting quarterback Trey Petty, a three-star prospect in the class of 2024. There are still a few months before Petty can sign with the Illini, but it’s clear they’ve made an impression on him with his eagerness to join the 2024 class.
There may be a bit of a Starkville to Champaign pipeline developing, and eyes will certainly be on Altmyer when he shows what he can do on Sept. 2 against Toledo.
“I’ve been very impressed by not just Luke’s play, not just on the football field but how he’s handled things,” Bielema continued in his press conference. “To walk into this environment, to have a lot of people from the outside world think he’s going to be that guy, to stand in front of his team and give cadence as a quarterback to speak in the huddle but also on the sideline and in the locker room, he’s really done a nice job of balancing all that.”
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