Illinois Seems Cursed at QB. Can Altmyer Change That?

For most of the last 21 years, I woke up almost every Saturday from August to December and watched the Illini play football.

Too many of those days ended in disappointment.

Now, I’m a fan of Chicago sports teams, so I’ve gotten used to rooting for mediocre teams, however, with Illinois football it always hurts more. It’s not like the team is lacking in talent, especially in recent years, but they still seem to fall short of their potential.

The main cause of this problem?

The inability to have a top-tier quarterback on the roster. Over the past 21 years, there have been three such quarterbacks.

The first of these is Juice Williams. Juice received a second-team All-Big Ten honor and two All-Big Ten honorable mentions. In 2007, he led the team to a victory over the No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the Rose Bowl. His combination of arm talent and speed allowed him to become one of the best players to ever play for the Illini.

Game number: X83035 TK1

The second of the three best quarterbacks Illinois has had over the past 21 years is the man recently hired as the LA Rams’ passing game specialist, Nathan Scheelhaase. Scheelhaase was the first Illinois QB to win back-to-back bowl games, which doesn’t seem possible considering he did it in 2010 and 2011. He’s also the school’s best player all-time in career total offense and was only the second player in Big Ten history to accumulate more than 8,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in a career.

Last but not least, there was Tommy DeVito, a one-season wonder. In his lone season with the Illini, DeVito earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors and set the school record for completion percentage in a season. He also led the Illini to their first AP Top 25 appearance since 2011 and a second-place finish in the Big Ten West (he would have been first if not for questionable officiating).

Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Now, did I just write all of this to vent my frustrations and take a nice trip down memory lane?

That was certainly part of it.

However, the main point is that it is high time for Illinois to find a new good quarterback and Luke Altmyer can be that guy. In 2023, when healthy, Altmyer was an incredibly solid QB.

In the 9 games he started, Altmyer threw for 16 total touchdowns and showed good ability with his arms and legs.

With a quarterback room that is the best Illinois has had in years, with several players with bright futures like Donovan Leary and Trey Petty, it’s time for the QB position to shine in Champaign.