Illinois football has put plenty of talent into the NFL over the past century.
In the Bret Bielema era, the Illini have put players into the NFL more consistently. But there is no doubt this program has churned out quality NFL talent at nearly every position.
The one position that has eluded the Orange and Blue is quarterback. For some reason, Illinois hasn’t been able to produce many quality college quarterbacks, let alone ones that get to the next level.
Sadly, there are numerous people reading this article who weren’t alive the last time the Illini had a quarterback taken in the NFL Draft. You have to go all the way back to 2002 when Kurt Kittner was picked by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round. Only 11 Illinois quarterbacks have ever been drafted in the history of the program.
Well, between April 23-25, my hope is that the clock resets. Illinois has a chance to get a quarterback drafted for the first time since Friends was on the air, and before MySpace was created.
Luke Altmyer is the beacon of hope for the Orange and Blue. The ability to showcase your talent is how you can get scouts to buy-in to what you are selling on the football field. Well, this showcase breaks down into three steps.
Altmyer has already completed the first step of the showcase. That was the 2025 season. He had a great year with Illinois, throwing for 3,007 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. A completion rate of 67.4% doesn’t hurt either.
Step one got Altmyer into the step two of the showcase, the NFL Draft Combine.
The Illini gunslinger was invited to the NFL Combine and will display his physical gifts in front of numerous scouts. The combine starts this week, and quarterbacks will take the stage in Indianapolis this Saturday, starting at 12:00 p.m. CT/1:00 p.m. ET.
As of right now, Altmyer has a grade of 5.68, and he is rated as the No. 14 quarterback out of the 16 players who were invited to the NFL Combine.
After step two, I am sure Altmyer will be reevaluated. The final step of the showcase will take place in mid-March when the Illinois football program will hold a pro day for its players.
In 2025, the Illinois pro day was March 13, so I assume that will be roughly the same date in 2026. This will give Altmyer more of the stage to himself, as he is showing off his arm talent as well as timing and other attributes that NFL scouts would love to see.
Luke Altmyer has gone up against quite a few NFL Draft Combine participants
When Altmyer steps in front of scouts among his peers, it won’t be any different than what he has experienced in the past. He is familiar with quite a few of the quarterbacks with whom he will be competing for draft position.
In 2024, Altmyer went up against the No. 15-rated quarterback, Jalon Daniels, from Kansas. Altmyer threw for 192 yards and had a 68.0 QBR in that game. Daniels had 141 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. He finished with a 31.7 QBR.
Altmyer batted Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar, who is the No. 9 quarterback, this season in the bowl game. Illinois won the bowl game, and Aguilar threw for 121 yards and zero touchdowns while Altmyer had 196 yards and a touchdown.
Not to mention, Altmyer knows the likes of both Fernando Mendoza and Drew Allar, who are both in the top seven among the NFL Draft Combine quarterbacks.
Altmyer is getting his chance to shine. The next step in the process happens this weekend. This is all a part of the path to Illinois getting another quarterback in the NFL. It has been a long time coming, and the time is almost up.