5 quarterbacks Illinois football must pursue when the transfer portal opens

Illinois football is about to finish up the most successful three-year run in my lifetime.

Bret Bielema has done a great job keeping the Illini in the national conversation year in and year out. The way he has been able to do this is not just solid coaching on the field. Illinois has been competitive in the offseason as well.

The transfer portal exploded as soon as Bielema took over at Illinois. He didn’t run and hide from it like some of his peers. Instead, Bielema embraced it. He landed Tommy DeVito, who was a guiding light to an eight-win campaign.

After DeVito, Bielema then landed Luke Altmyer. The former Ole Miss quarterback played three seasons at Illinois, and he has a chance to win his second bowl game and has a total of 18 wins, which could be 19 by the end of December, in the last two seasons.

But what is next for Illinois after Altmyer leaves? Who snatches up the starting quarterback job in 2026? There are some great options on the roster, but there are also some intriguing names currently in the transfer portal. Illinois won't compete for the top quarterbacks, but there are some solid options that I have my eyes on.

Here are five quarterbacks Illinois football must pursue when the transfer portal opens

Option #1: Kenny Minchey (Notre Dame) – 6-foot-2, 204 pounds (Junior)

Right now, if I had a choice among realistic options, I would go with Kenny Minchey. The Notre Dame transfer would be a perfect option for the Illinois football program.

Illinois has money we can offer a quarterback, but I think there is a formula when it comes to the type of player we can land. I am looking for a quality backup who wants a starting job from day one but has talent. Minchey fits that perfectly.

Through three seasons at Notre Dame, Minchey threw for a combined 212 yards and didn’t have a touchdown or interception. He was barely beaten out for the starting job at Notre Dame this season by CJ Carr as well.

Coming out of the class of 2023, Minchey was a four-star recruit and the No. 169 player in the country. He had some big-time offers, but the Irish were his landing spot.

Right now, On3.com has Minchey as a four-star transfer, and he is actually rated higher as a transfer than he was as a recruit. Florida seems to be the name that is attached to him right now, but there hasn’t been a ton come out about his transfer status, as the transfer portal doesn’t open until January 2.

Minchey also reminds me a lot of Altmyer. He has a quick release and a live arm. He doesn’t have to rely on his running ability, but it is there when he gets into tight spots. I think the most seamless transition from Altmyer would be Minchey. Illinois would be one of those teams in the top 20 competing for one of those coveted College Football Playoff spots next season.

Option #2: Colton Joseph (Old Dominion) – 6-foot-2, 200 pounds (Junior)

I want a winner behind center. Someone who can come in and has the pedigree of a winner and has done it on the field already. That someone could be Colton Jospeh.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound dual-threat quarterback just finished up his second season with Old Dominion. He didn’t play in their bowl game, as he decided to enter the transfer portal.

Joseph was not a highly touted recruit coming out of high school. He was only a three-star talent who was ranked as the No. 1857 player in the class of 2023. Joseph picked Old Dominion and proved doubters wrong.

In just two seasons, he threw for 4,251 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. This includes a solid season in 2025 of 2,624 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. What makes this kid even more dangerous are his legs.

As a sophomore, Joseph rushed for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Monarchs. He is a true dual-threat quarterback. Out of all of the 476 teams at all levels of college football, Joseph was ranked as the No. 75 quarterback in the country. That is 19 spots ahead of Altmyer.

Joseph had some interesting games this season, too. He played Indiana in Bloomington, and his arm was a bit of a struggle. He threw for 96 yards and three interceptions, but Joseph’s legs made things interesting. Old Dominion only lost 27-14, and Joseph had 179 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Old Dominion also played in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech. In a 45-26 win over the Hokies, Joseph threw for 276 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He also had 63 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Right now, it seems the Memphis could be a hot team to land Joseph. They are hiring Old Dominion’s offensive coordinator for the same position. But I am not sure how much that will matter. There will be plenty of suitors at the power-four level who will want Joseph.

The game of Joseph intrigues me. He is more reliant on his running ability than Altmyer, but his arm doesn’t lack anything. I think Joseph has a better deep ball, but he might be a little slower with the release and slightly less accurate in the short and middle routes. I think this kid could get us over the hump and play in the College Football Playoff in 2026, though.

Option #3: Katin Houser (East Carolina) – 6-foot-3, 225 pounds (Senior)

There are quite a few names out there who have experience. I think an intriguing name that has resurfaced after portaling a couple of times is Katin Houser.

Houser was an elite quarterback coming out of high school. He was rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 215 player in the class of 2022. Michigan State was able to land him over a plethora of other power-four programs.

Houser spent two seasons with the Spartans. After his redshirt season, he played a little bit in year two and had 1,130 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions with a 58.6% completion rate. This was a depth chart at Michigan State that also had Sam Leavitt, the current No. 1 transfer portal quarterback from Arizona State.

After his time with the Spartans, Houser transferred out and landed with East Carolina. This is when he started to blossom as a quarterback. In two seasons with the Pirates, Houser has thrown for 5,306 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. This includes the 2025 campaign when he threw for 3,300 yards, 19 touchdowns, and six interceptions.

No names have been tied to Houser yet, as he just entered the transfer portal a couple of days ago. I wouldn’t mind Illinois pursuing this kid, though.

Houser has a big arm. He throws the ball well, and he has enough legs to be able to get out of tight situations. This season, he threw for 366 yards and a touchdown in a close 24-17 loss on the road against North Carolina State. He also threw for 285 yards and two interceptions against the No. 12-ranked BYU Cougars.

My thinking with Houser is that Illinois has a couple of young quarterbacks in Carson Boyd and Michael Clayton who could use more development. Let’s have a bridge quarterback for a season. We only had DeVito for one season, so this wouldn’t be out of the norm. Houser, with his experience and big arm, could help Illinois get to the College Football Playoff.

Option #4: Jaden Craig (Harvard) – 6-foot-3, 225 pounds (Senior)

You don’t have to go to a big program to be an intriguing transfer portal quarterback. A name that is popping up on my timeline is someone like Jaden Craig.

Coming out of high school, Craig was looked over by many programs. He only had two FBS scholarship offers, and he ultimately chose Harvard as his landing spot.

With the Crimson, Craig developed into a pretty good passer. In three seasons, he threw for 6,074 yards, 52 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. This includes the 2025 campaign, where he threw for 2,869 yards, 25 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

I believe Illinois is attached to this name. The On3.com transfer portal social media account posted about an early Big Ten team to watch, but they didn’t give away the name. The article is behind a paywall, but the only site they tagged besides their own is the Illinois site.

Clearly, Craig is a smart quarterback. You have to be to go to Harvard. If he did pick Illinois, I like him because his game and style remind me a lot of Altmyer.

Craig is well-versed in the run-pass option game. He knows how to run a Barry Lunney Jr. style offense, and that from the jump is enticing.

I love the ability for Craig to get the ball out quickly on passes. He doesn’t sit in the pocket and think too much. His arm might be even stronger than Altmyer’s, too. His touch passes are phenomenal.

If Illinois brings Craig in for one, maybe two, seasons, I think we would be in good hands. The only worry I have is that all of his competition is against the FCS. He hasn’t played an FBS team, so I would be curious how he transitions with the speed of the game. Regardless, this wouldn’t be a bad addition to the depth chart.

Option #5: Jake Merklinger (Tennessee) – 6-foot-3, 215 pounds (Sophomore)

When Illinois landed Altmyer, he hadn’t played much at Ole Miss. He was a former four-star recruit who just needed a landing spot where he could play and develop. Could Illinois strike gold twice with someone like Jake Merklinger?

Coming out of high school, Merklinger was a four-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 160 player in the class of 2024. He had a myriad of scholarship offers from big-time programs, but Tennessee ended up winning out.

In two seasons, Merklinger’s career never got off the ground. He redshirted in year one, and he played limited snaps this season. For his two-year career with the Vols, he threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns.

Merklinger is now in the transfer portal with three years of eligibility remaining. The thing that intrigues me most about this kid is that he has a ton of potential, and Tennessee had Nico Iamaleava in 2024 and Joey Aguilar in 2025. Merklinger could be pretty good, but he just hasn’t had a chance yet.

I love Merklinger’s gunslinger arm. He has a strong arm, and he would be able to move the ball down the field vertically. Illinois could use him like Altmyer, as Merklinger can run a little bit, but I think the Illini offense could be more dangerous in the passing game.

No names have been attached to Merklinger just yet, but this is the mirror image of what Illinois had going on with Altmyer a few years back. That ended up pretty well for the program, and getting it again wouldn’t be a bad thing.