5 huge observations from the Illinois football win over Eastern Illinois

2. Luke Altmyer looks more comfortable in the offense

I see multiple programs struggling to get things going in week one, and I believe a big reason for these struggles is a lack of chemistry and understanding. When you have players transferring in and out constantly, you can’t get familiar with the system.

That seemed to be an issue for Luke Altmyer in 2023. He entered the Illinois program and was just getting his feet wet as a member of the program and as a starter. He was new to both worlds, so of course there would be struggles.

Entering 2024, there seems to be a new Altmyer behind center. What I saw on Thursday night was a much more confident and poised quarterback for the Orange and Blue.

Altmyer’s numbers were fantastic. He finished with 214 yards and four touchdowns through the air. He also had a completion rate of 79.2%. Altmyer then added 27 yards on the ground.

But what I saw was more than just those numbers. Two things stood out to me about Altmyer’s game.

The first thing that stood out to me was his efficiency. Altmyer didn’t have a turnover, and that shows his understanding of the offense. There was only one time that he got lucky, and the defender dropped the ball, but that was more of a communication error.

The biggest thing that stood out was how Altmyer kept his eyes down the field. When pressure was coming around him, he didn’t drop his head and run. He was poised and kept moving in space and feeling the defenders.

There were so many times Altmyer felt the pressure and then moved up and either right or left in the pocket while still looking down the field. This familiarity with the offense is so valuable to the program.