QB Luke Altmyer passed on SEC return to chase history at Illinois

When Tennessee and quarterback Nico Iamaleava split in April, only days before the spring transfer portal window, the rumor mill picked up steam. Could the Volunteers lure a proven starting quarterback from the ACC, Big 12 or Big Ten? The SEC was out of the question as interconference policy is that players can’t transfer inside the league during the spring.

Among the most popular names thrown around on Tennessee message boards was Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer. The former Ole Miss transfer had resurrected his career in the previous two seasons at Illinois. Bret Bielema had given him a second shot, and Altmeyer delivered, leading the Fighting Illini to their first 10-win season since 2001.

But would Altmyer take the chance to go back and prove himself in the SEC? Or would he return to Illinois, positioned to contend for a College Football Playoff bid?

“There were opportunities for me to venture onward to the next level, but also to be able to play in another program,” Altmyer told On3. “That’s just the reality of it, and the NCAA and the college football world that we live in. Being from Mississippi and in SEC country, that’s very, very attractive to be able to play in that conference, play in front of people that I know, and in stadiums that I’ve been in before and grew up watching and loving. It was certainly an attraction and a real thing.

“It was a difficult decision, but I know what’s important. I know what is being created here, and the trust, unity and the connection that I have amongst my teammates, this community and my coaches. The success is waiting for me here. It’d be foolish to pick up and start over and take a risk when I have a lot of trust that’s been earned and built.”

Altmyer stuck with Illinois so he could make history. And while he did not confirm any specific schools were in the mix this spring, the opportunity to return to the SEC was clearly there. The quarterback decided to stay in Champaign, but he didn’t want to let the moment pass by without having some fun. Ten days had passed since Iamaleava had left Tennessee, and Altmyer’s name remained a hot topic.

So on April 22, the quarterback posted out a GIF on X of him striking the “championship belt” celebration with the message: “Keep the Champaign Flowing.” It was a clear signal of his intention to return to Illinois.

“It was cool,” Altmyer said, laughing. “That was a funky time. It was a tricky, tricky, complex time. There was a lot of speculation, and the Twitter verse is going nuts. To be able to do it was cool, just to press the send button and see how people react. It was cool to be able to plant my feet where I am and to move forward full steam ahead.”

After going 5–7 in 2023 with a 3-6 mark in the Big Ten in Altmyer’s first season, Illinois went 10-3 last fall with a 6-3 conference record. It was one of the biggest turnarounds in college football in 2024, and something that nobody foresaw.

That’s something Altmyer is keeping top of mind this summer. After returning home to Mississippi for most of May, he’s now back in Champaign for the summer, with Week 1 less than 13 weeks away.

“Nobody had any respect for us at all coming off of 2023, winning five games,” he said. “Came in 2024, doubled that. Nobody expected us, or even thought about us doing that.”

Illinois is a consensus preseason top-20 team. On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman have the Fighting Illini inside their post-spring top-10 teams. Illinois’ win totals for the season are set at 7.5, according to FanDuel. Altmyer could make history and lead the program to its first CFP appearance.

Expectations for what Altmyer and Bielema can accomplish are high, and that has taken some adjusting for the quarterback.

“It’s definitely been a switch,” Altmyer said. “People are talking about me in a new light, that’s for sure. My whole entire college career, I’ve been laughed at and been a joke and been a guy who’s kind of an afterthought. Nobody believed in me, except the people who love me most and myself. I always knew I could do it, but to be in the media and the people talk about you in a good way, to be on a list with a lot of other great quarterbacks and expected to do good things, it’s cool to see.”

When Altmyer transferred from Ole Miss to Illinois, he was going outside his comfort zone. A former four-star recruit, Mississippi was the only place he knew for the majority of his life. He still jokes that the biggest difference has been the weather, when the temperature in Illinois significantly drops come October.

But the quarterback has also found his footing. He’s played in 30 career games, boasting a 15−8 record entering the 2025 season. He threw for 22 touchdowns to just six interceptions last year, while also adding four scores on the ground.

Luke Altmyer admitted he’s the most comfortable he’s ever been playing quarterback. He’s in a position to seriously contend for a CFP bid and a Big Ten title, highlighted by a Week 2 test at Duke. He will also be working to deliver on preseason expectations that historically, Illinois has struggled with. The Fighting Illini last closed out a season ranked in the AP top 10 at No. 10 in 1989.

“Forever, I wanted to be a quarterback on a team that could win at the highest level,” he said. “I had opportunities to go do that elsewhere, but I knew I could do it here. That’s a big reason why I am here at Illinois. We can achieve what everybody else in the country can achieve, and that’s championships and winning a whole lot of games. Every game we walk into this season, the expectation is we’re going to win, and there’s not going to be a doubt in our mind about it.”