The Illinois football team had a few down years after their strong start to the 1990s. This downturn quickly turned into a couple of great seasons once Ron Turner got some of his guys into the program. One of those guys was Kurt Kittner.
If you tried to argue for Kittner being the best quarterback in Illini history, I wouldn’t put up a fight. This guy was one of the best to ever do it with the stats and accolades to back it up. He ended his time with the Illini with 8,880 total offensive yards, which ranks No. 3 all time. That is impressive considering his yards didn’t come from running the football.
Kittner ranks No. 2 all time in career passing yardage with 8,722, only three yards shy of first place. During his 2001 campaign, he threw for 3,256 yards, which ranks No. 5 all time. Kittner is also No. 1 in history of the Illinois program in career touchdown passes with 70, 14 touchdowns clear of No. 2 on the list.
One of the big reasons Illinois was good in the late 1990s and early 2000s was that Kittner was leading the way. Illinois finished 8-4 in 1999 and won the MicronPC.com Bowl against Virginia. We then had a great year in 2001 going 10-2 and making the Sugar Bowl.
Kittner was great when he was on the football field. He helped lead that Illinois team to some great seasons. During his senior year, he did finish No. 12 in the Heisman Trophy voting, too. Illinois hasn’t had this good of a quarterback in a long time. Kittner is someone we should always cherish as Illini fans.