Illinois Football: The 30 greatest Illini players of all time

The quarterback position hasn’t exactly been amazing throughout the history of the program. There have been a few bright lights come through the system, though. One of the great transfers we had come in was Jeff George.

George started his college career off with the Purdue Boilermakers but after a coaching change, he decided to try his hand with another college program. George ended up landing at Illinois. After sitting out a season, he spent two great years leading this team to some wins.

Since George only spent two years with the Illini, he isn’t high on a lot of the lists in the record book. He is No. 10 in career total offense yardage with 4,767 yards. He is No. 10 in career passing yardage with 5,189, No. 10 in single-season passing yardage with 2,738, No. 10 in career touchdown passes with 31 and No. 3 in single-season touchdown passes with 22.

George also helped lead Illinois to two bowl games. We fell to Florida in the All-American Bowl in 1988 and then won the Citrus Bowl the following year against Virginia. Overall, he was a successful quarterback for this program. He is one of the greatest passers that has stepped foot in Memorial Stadium.

After his career with the Illini, George would get drafted into the NFL by the Indianapolis Colts with the No. 1 pick in 1990. His career in the NFL didn’t pan out, but he was one of the best we have seen with the Orange and Blue.