Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular

January 6, 2025

It's been a crazy week as the Illini are in the midst of Portal Kombat, the basketball season is heating up for the men and women's teams and the CFP is producing upsets that make one wonder what fireworks we will see this Thursday and Friday night. I can't wait for a 16-team playoff that I think will arrive next season (we should know by January 23rd).

Hail Mary #1 – Where Does Luke Altmyer Rank with Past Illini Quarterbacks

With Luke Altmyer finishing up his career at Illinois, Illini fans are now mulling over where he fits in the pantheon of Fighting Illini Quarterback Greats.

With a bit of time reflecting & thinking about past quarterbacks here is my list of where I’d put Altmyer with the Illini greats of the past.

It’s also sobering to think he’s joining the list of Illini Legends. I remember his first start, and it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago.

I’m not ranking them in order, but its more in the category of my own “best of” lists.

Best Overall Talent- Jeff George

George had a quick release compared to Joe Namath, Dan Marino and Kurt Warner. He had arm strength comparable to Elway and Favre. He had the tools to be great, and he did a lot at Illinois and in the National Football League. He was not the field general one needs to be a generational quarterback.

Best on the Football Field- Tony Eason

Tony was an amazing talent. He was able to thread the needle and do all the things needed to elevate an Illini program that was in the crosshairs of the upper tiers of the Big Ten. He had a perfect throwing motion and was fantastic to watch.

Best at Reviving a Dead Program- Dave Wilson

The Illinois football program was handicapped by the remnants of the Slush Fund probation and the horrific Gary Moeller head coaching tenure. Mike White came to town and with Dave Wilson at quarterback, the Illini unleashed a decade plus of great quarterbacking and the league’s most deadly passing game. It was like seeing a rainbow after a flood!

Best Putting the Program on Highest Level Ever- Luke Altmyer

Luke was a close runner up to Dave Wilson. The difference was that with Bret Bielema as coach, the Illini have elevated their results to the point that no other Illini team has ever attained. Two years of nine plus wins in a row is territory no Illini has ever accomplished, and Luke Altmyer was at the heart of this team and its historic results.

Best Technician- Kurt Kittner

Kurt was a great quarterback. He won games taking the team to the 2001 Sugar Bowl. He was technically almost perfect. His leadership skills were on display regularly. He played big in big moments and seemed to always put the ball where it needed to be despite not having the “cannon” that one saw in Wilson, Eason, Trudeau and George.

Best Winner- Jack Trudeau

Trudeau led a team that was picked 8^th or 9^th in the Big Ten to do what has never been done before or will ever be done again. The team went 9-0 and beat every other team in the league for the only time ever. The Illini beat 3 top 10 teams in 1983, leading the Illini to three of the biggest moments in the history of Gies Memorial Stadium. At this middle of all the amazing things that season was Trudeau, blazing a trail that future Illini QBs are still trying to emulate.

Best/Most Physical Tough Guy- Juice Williams

Juice Williams was the toughest guy ever to play quarterback at the University of Illinois. Built like a fullback, he was the man who led the Illini back to the Rose Bowl in 2007. Not only was he a great passer that found ways to use his lethal receivers to move the ball down field. He was also like an additional running back and would absorb hits that would’ve buried lesser men. Juice took the Illini further than most and took a pounding that most wouldn’t have survived.

Best Leader- Nathan Scheelhaase

Nathan Scheelhaase was the leader of an Illini team that wasn’t at the strength of prior or following eras of Illini teams. Scheelhaase was the man who kept this team together – in the face of tremendous obstacles. His leadership has resulted in him moving up the ranks of coaching in the NFL. In a league where leaders are at a premium, Scheelhaase is looked at as a rising star.

Best/Most Overrated- Jason Verduzco

Jason Verduzco was the man who was a wrestler. The guy who was too small or not tall enough. The guy who many times was defined by the fact that he wasn’t the ideal quarterback. Despite all these alleged limitations, Verduzco excelled at leading and taking the Illini offense and driving it for strong results.

Those are my rankings of the Illini quarterbacks. I tried to fit each one into an area that highlighted their strengths. My apologies to any of the talented quarterbacks I left off the list.

I am under duress to give a more definitive ranking, so I will leave you with a nuanced ranking.

Top 5 QBs I’d Want to Lead the Illini in a One Game Playoff

1. Eason
2. Kittner
3. Altmyer
4. Wilson
5. Trudeau

There it is. My rendition of where Luke Altmyer fits in the pantheon of Illini Legends at Quarterback.

Go Illini!