It's obvious that Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has faith in quarterback Luke Altmyer. As soon as the QB transferred from Ole Miss, Bielema made him the starter, and Altmyer's performances on the field have only gotten better since.
Earlier this week, Bielema joined The Jim Rome Show and talked about just how much he respects his quarterback, and what exactly makes him so special.
"We were 5-1 in one-score games, and a lot of that was the play of Luke Altmyer down the stretch in those critical games," Bielema said.
The Illinois head coach is right. Last season, Altmyer threw for 2,717 yards and 22 touchdowns, while giving up just six interceptions. He also ran for 217 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, proving his worth as a dual-threat quarterback.
Has Luke Altmyer improved since joining Illinois?
Altmyer didn't have a bad first season with the Fighting Illini, but it was far from great. He threw for just 13 touchdowns and gave up 10 interceptions, earning less than 1,900 yards through the air. The growth from his first year at Illinois to his second was undeniable.
"He's a relentless student of the game, and I think he took that football IQ to a different level," Bielema said. "He's a very, very good athlete, and can run well... and he just built a lot of intentional relationships. Not only with his teammates, not only with the offensive players, but the defensive players."
The Fighting Illini are returning nearly 82 percent of their starters from last season, and Bielema credited Altmyer as a big reason why his program was able to do that.
"These guys all could have left us for higher money value or better, greener pastures, but they know what we bring as coaches. They know what we bring as a program, and kinda excited to see where this thing goes," Bielema concluded.
Altmyer will kick off his final season with the Illini on Friday, Aug. 29, against the Western Illinois Leathernecks. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed on Peacock.