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Top 5 Illinois football transfer quarterbacks of all time

Illinois football hasn't had tremendous quarterback success in the history of the program, but the transfer portal has been good to us.

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 05: Tommy DeVito #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini catches the hiked ball during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans at Memorial Stadium on November 5, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 05: Tommy DeVito #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini catches the hiked ball during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans at Memorial Stadium on November 5, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Just days ago, the Illinois football team announced that Luke Altymer would start the season behind center.

Altymer was a big transfer addition to the Illini program this offseason. He is coming to Illinois after spending a couple of seasons with Ole Miss. With three years of eligibility remaining, big things are expected from Altmyer.

Illinois has a history of bringing in solid transfer quarterbacks. We just came off an eight-win campaign that featured a transfer in quarterback Tommy DeVito helping lead the way. This isn’t anything new for the program, though. There are plenty of big-name transfers we can take a look at over the past half-century.

Here are the top five Illinois football transfer quarterbacks of all time

Outside Looking In


  • Brandon Peters

One of the more recent transfer quarterbacks on the outside looking in is Brandon Peters. He came to Illinois after spending two seasons with the Michigan Wolverines.

The Avon, Indiana, native was one of the best players in the class of 2016. He was a high four-star recruit who was ranked inside the top 100. Peters would pick the Wolverines as his landing spot.

After two lackluster years with Michigan, Peters made his way to Champaign to be Illinois’ starter. His best season with the Illini was in 2019 when he threw for 1,884 yards, 18 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Illinois would make a bowl game that season as well.

Out of all the quarterbacks on this list, Peters would have the second-lowest completion percentage at 53.8%, and he would average the fewest yards per season at just 1,161 yards each year.


  • Jon Beutjer

The second transfer quarterback on the outside looking in is Jon Beutjer. He had the tough job of transitioning from the Kurt Kittner era.

Beutjer would start his career with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Coming out of Wheaton Warrenville South High School in Illinois, Beutjer was a four-star recruit. Him heading to Iowa for a season was big for the Hawkeyes.

After his freshman season, Beutjer would decide to enter the transfer portal. He would pick Illinois as his landing spot. After the Illini went to the Sugar Bowl in 2001, Beutjer would be handed the reins during the 2022 campaign.

Illinois didn’t see success under the new leadership, though. This hurt Beutjer in the quarterback transfer rankings. He wouldn’t make a bowl game with the Illini, and Beutjer’s 25.7% winning percentage while in Champaign is the worst among the transfer quarterbacks on this list.

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