Luke Altmyer details 'unselfish decision' to return to Illinois instead of transfer: 'No regrets'

After the 2024 season, Luke Altmyer chose not to enter the NFL Draft and instead opted to return to college for another year at Illinois. But there was plenty of outside interest for his talents.

Altmyer had opportunities to leave Champaign and potentially return to his roots in the SEC, where he began his career at Ole Miss. But he chose to stay with the Fighting Illini and head coach Bret Bielema, with whom he put up the best numbers of his career.

As he assessed his experience in the player movement era, Altmyer acknowledged the wild nature of the landscape. There’s been a wave of change, and he admitted he even has a hard time keeping up with everything.

“It was wild,” Altmyer told On3 via Zoom on behalf of U.S. Cellular. “Just with everything [in] the NCAA that’s taken place right now in the world of college athletics is so crazy. It’s hard to understand, even for the people that are in it. Coaches, players, fans … it’s just so much going on and very difficult to navigate with people reaching out, trying to get you to come play for their school.

“With the dollars that are in place now and all the cultures and traditions that are trying to get you to come play for them. It was crazy. I was blessed to be in a position to be able to live in that, but man, I wanted to be a part of a program that was bigger than myself.”

That said, Altmyer understood what it meant to play at Illinois as the Fighting Illini hit a new gear under Bielema’s watch. It’s why he made an “unselfish” decision to stay put, and it paid off. He had a career year in 2025 as he completed 67.4% of his passes for 3,007 yards and 22 touchdowns.

“I wanted to make an unselfish decision and play for a place that I had earned a trusted confidence, growth, leadership position,” Altmyer said. “And I really wanted to set myself up for something long-term that was bigger than myself. I know I did that.

“I leave no regrets in my decision at all, 100% in the way I played, prepared. Very, very pleased with the way things went. Crazy time. It’s only getting crazier, with all the things in place. But man, I was just so thankful to be able to play for such a great university.”

Luke Altmyer: 2025 was ‘bigger than myself’

Running it back at Illinois wasn’t just about personal success, Luke Altmyer said. The Fighting Illini went 9-4 in 2025 – the first time in program history they won nine games in back-to-back seasons. The fan base also expressed its gratitude throughout the year, which made it even more special.

“It was a season that was a lot bigger than myself. I’ll tell you that,” Altmyer said. “The fans, the community, the engagement with everybody involved was so impactful. Something that’ll last longer than a season, longer than I can remember, for sure. It was just fun to be able to interact with fans who are 40-year season ticket holders that would come up to the players and myself and just thank me, thank the players for their contributions, the winning that took place at Illinois the last two years. That was bigger than myself. A lot of fun.

“It’s why I stayed, to be able to do something really cool for the community, to set myself up long-term for I think a great NFL future. That’s what we did. We worked really hard, we cared about what we did, tried to be our best every single day and played hard for that community, for the Orange and Blue. I loved every single moment that I was there.”

When Altmyer first arrived in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois struggled to a 5-7 record in 2023. But the Illini quickly turned around to win 10 games the following season. He as a central part of that shift, and he acknowledged other sports’ success. Notably, the men’s basketball team is now Top-5 in the AP poll.

As he gets ready to embark on his NFL journey, Altmyer said Illinois athletics is in a great spot. For football, the foundation is set, and he sees an upward trajectory.

“It’s a great time to be a fan for the Illini,” he said. “I was glad to be a part of it, to kind of start that winning culture that’s really, I think, going to take off here in the next however many years. I’m very confident in that with their leadership. It’s great.”