The journey post-Luke Altmyer is kind of scary for the Illinois football program.
It has been a long time since the Illini have been without a consistent and stable quarterback. Altmyer brought that to the program the last couple of seasons, and now we turn to Katin Houser.
There were plenty of options in the transfer portal for Illinois to replace Altmyer, but Houser ended up being our selection. Bret Bielema did an interview with Jim Rome and explained the process of landing Houser for the 2026 season.
“He’s special, man. He came across our radar, and I remember early in the portal world, we got a list of about 15 quarterbacks. All of the high-priced guys that went all over this country.”
There were plenty of quarterbacks who would have been nice, but Illinois just doesn’t have the budget for some of those big-time players.
At the end of the day, this wasn’t just a Bielema decision, though. It took a true team effort.
“Myself, Barry Lunney, Art Sitkowski, Mike Neu…we all kind of got together independently and compared our lists. He was either one or two on all of our lists above everybody else.”
Rome didn’t press Bielema, but the first question I would have had for the Illinois head coach is who was the other quarterback? There was clearly another quarterback the Illini were chasing, alongside Houser.
Regardless, Illinois’ coaching staff put their heads together to get the guy they wanted. Houser had plenty of options, but he fit the mold of talent and the right price for the Orange and Blue.
Bielema continues on what makes Houser special and the grit he is bringing to Champaign.
“He’s got an extremely quick release. And you know what, I think we are all defined by the moments of adversity we have lived. This kid goes to Michigan State from Cali, thrown into a starter as a freshman…goes to East Carolina and probably could have left earlier than he did, but he wanted to stay true to them. And he has really put himself into a position to be a big part of where we are this year at the end.”
"He's special, man."@BretBielema on @IlliniFootball transfer QB Katin Houser. pic.twitter.com/ORiyGkIbtl
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) August 4, 2026
The Illinois football program isn’t a one-man show, as Bret Bielema is a smart leader
There are some programs that have a head coach, and it is his way or the highway. I got the feeling with the previous regime that the head coach was making the decisions and didn’t have much in the way of discussions.
Bielema is clearly different. He knows his deficiencies and is willing to listen to his coaching staff on what options are best.
I love that the Illinois coaching staff put together lists of the quarterbacks they want. The fact that they all had Houser up there toward the top is encouraging. The Illini have confidence in the kid, and now it is his time to shine on the field.
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