Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer announces his return to the Illini for the 2025 season during the first media timeout of the Tennessee-Illinois men’s basketball game on Saturday.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 14, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Luke Altmyer will be back in Champaign as a third-year starting quarterback for the Illinois program.

Altmyer, who finished the 2024 season with 2,543 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, with only five interceptions, made the anticipated announcement official in front of a sold-out crowd during the first media timeout of the men’s basketball game at State Farm Center between No. 1 Tennessee and Illinois.

“Building something special here in Champaign. Grateful to be part of it and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. See y’all at the Citrus Bowl,” Altmyer stated on Twitter/X after addressing the State Farm Center crowd at midcourt.

Altmyer named one of the top 25 quarterbacks in the nation by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was named to the Davey O'Brien Award Class of 2024 as one of the top 35 quarterbacks in college football.

Altmyer, a former transfer from the University of Mississippi and a Starkville, Miss. native, led five game-winning drives in the final minute or overtime during his career, two more than any other active quarterback in college football. In 2024, he led the nation with three game-winning touchdown passes in the final minute or overtime.

Altmyer becomes the fifth three-year returning starter at the quarterback position in Illini football history since 2010 following Brandon Peters, Wes Lunt, Nathan Scheelhaase and Isaiah ‘Juice’ Williams.

The announcement obviously means Altmyer will be starting his first bowl game in his college career on New Year's Eve in Orlando when No. 20 Illinois faces No. 15 South Carolina in the 2024 Citrus Bowl that will will kick off at 2 p.m. CST at Camping World Stadium on ABC.

Altmyer was referred to by Illinois head coach Bret Bielema last week during the Citrus Bowl media conference as “a potential Heisman Trophy candidate” leading into a 2025 campaign where Illinois will be coming off just the program’s regular season with at least nine wins.

IlliniGuys.com was informed during the Thanksgiving week by those close to Altmyer and his family that it was always the intention of Altmyer to return to Illinois if he wasn’t seen as a high draft pick in the upcoming 2025 National Football League Draft this spring.

Bielema joked that his second-year starting quarterback Luke Altmyer, who does have a year of eligibility remaining, is constantly texting his head coach when he sees what he sees as an attractive player announces on social media that he’s entering the portal.

“What do good receivers want, right? They want a quarterback, they want offensive linemen. Well, Luke is texting me also about defensive players that he likes where their program has had coaching transition and those players can immediately get in the portal,” Bielema said.

As of right now, the Illinois quarterback depth chart for the 2025 season actually has two Starkville, Miss. natives at the top with Altmyer and 2024 signee Trey Petty. Petty, who spent his freshman season at Starkville High School as Altmyer’s backup quarterback, redshirted while not seeing any action in the 2024 season but is seen as a promising developmental prospect.

Donovan Leary, who spent the last two years as a backup to Altmyer at Illinois, announced his intention to enter the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining in his college career.