Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. was honored Tuesday among 64 other college football assistant coaches by being nominated for the 2024 Broyles Award.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 27, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — You’ll forgive Barry Lunney Jr. if being nominated for an award with Frank Broyles’ name on it may mean a little bit more to him.

On Tuesday, Lunney Jr. was one of 65 coaches nominated for the annual award given out by the Broyles Foundation to the best college football assistant coach in a given season. Illinois has scored 38 or more points in back-to-back Big Ten games for the first time since 2011 and Lunney tutors the quarterback position at Illinois specifically and is a big reason for the development of Luke Altmyer as the Illini quarterback’s 20/3 TD/interception ratio is the best in the Big Ten and second-best in Power 4 behind only Clemson's Cade Klubnik. Altmyer is 35th in the nation in passing efficiency. His 145.2 passing efficiency would be second-best in a single season in Illinois football history. Altmyer is fourth in the Big Ten in passing touchdowns (18) and 26th in the nation.

Altmyer is the only quarterback in the nation with 20 touchdown passes and three or fewer interceptions.

Altmyer in Illinois wins: 135-for-215 passing (62.8 percent), 18 touchdown passes, 0 interceptions, 60 rushes, 260 rushing yards (4.3 yards/rush), three rushing touchdowns.

Altmyer joined an impressive list of Illini QBs who have led the team to three Top 25 wins in a single season over the last 50 years: Jack Trudeau (1983), Jason Verduzco (1990), Kurt Kittner (2001), Juice Williams (2007), and Altmyer (2024).

Broyles is a legendary name at Lunney’s alma mater of the University of Arkansas after Frank Broyles was the Razorbacks head coach from 1958 to 1976, compiling a career coaching record of 149–62–6. Broyles was also the athletic director at Arkansas from 1974 to 2007. Broyles won seven Southwest Conference titles and his 1964 team was named a national champion by a number of selectors including the Football Writers Association of America.

Lunney graduated from Arkansas in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology. As a quarterback for the Razorbacks, Lunney starting 40 games at quarterback, and was a team captain on the 1995 team that played in the SEC Championship Game for the first time in school history. In his first game as the starting quarterback, he led Arkansas to an upset win at No. 4 Tennessee. Lunney left Arkansas holding school career records for passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass completions, pass attempts and total offensive plays. Lunney also played baseball at Arkansas. Lunney’s grandfather, John, lettered at Arkansas from 1946-49. His father, Barry Sr., retired after 28 years as a high school football coach in Arkansas, winning eight state championships at Bentonville High School and Fort Smith Southside High School.

Lunney is the first Illini assistant coach under Bret Bielema to be nominated for the national award since former defensive coordinator Ryan Walters was a finalist for the award following the 2022 season.

43 winners/finalists have become college or NFL head coaches, 45 percent of the finalists have become head coaches and where 20 percent of all current Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches have been finalists for the award.

Lunney’s coaching career began with two seasons as a graduate assistant at Arkansas from 1998-99 following a standout career for the Razorbacks. In 1998, Arkansas won its first eight games and rose to No. 9 in the national rankings on the way to sharing the SEC Western Division title and earning a berth in the Citrus Bowl. Lunney served as the Razorbacks' running backs coach for the bowl game and throughout the spring of 1999. Arkansas spent the majority of the 1999 season in the top 25 of the national rankings and finished the year with a 27-6 win over No. 14 Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

Before returning to the Razorbacks staff under Bielema, Lunney served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Bentonville High School (Ark.) from 2005-12. In his eight years at Bentonville, the Tigers won 78 games, including 25 straight in 2010-11, played in four state championship games, claiming state titles in 2008 and 2010, and won six straight 7A West Conference crowns from 2007-12. Bentonville played in three 7A state championship games and won at least 12 games in four of his last five seasons.

“Just from the first time I met him, I’ve always had a high level of respect for who he is and how he goes about doing,” Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said. “His composure and his work ethic is next level. He was a former quarterback and he bought into the idea of being a tight ends coach immediately and learned everything that goes with coaching that position for the first time in his life.”

Lunney Jr. reunited with Bielema at Illinois after he spent five years as the tight ends coach at Arkansas under Bielema from 2013-17.

“Well, I was the one who nominated him so that should tell you what I think about him,” Bielema joked on Wednesday afternoon with IlliniGuys.com. “Just so excited for Barry because he’s such a stable rock for us in this building.”