Top 10 Illinois football quarterbacks of all time
The quarterback position is crucial in the game of football, and the Illinois football program has learned this the hard way.
Over the years, the Illini have had some stinkers at the quarterback position. I still look at the Lovie Smith era and wonder what the heck was going on.
But for every bad quarterback, there has been a good one. Illinois has produced some talented passers throughout the past century, and I wanted to look at the best quarterbacks to come through Champaign.
The following results were determined by a mix of numbers, team success, and the situation they came into. Enjoy.
Here are the top 10 Illinois football quarterbacks of all time
No. 10 Johnny Johnson
A lot of factors went into determining the top 10 Illinois football quarterbacks of all time, and the thing that got Johnny Johnson over the top was his ability to win games.
Johnson came to Champaign via Chicago. He was an All-American at North Chicago High School, and then he took his talents to Illinois where he continued some great work on the football field.
In the three seasons Johnson spent at Illinois, he amassed 5,043 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions. These numbers include a great 1994 season that saw the talented quarterback throw for 2,245 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
One of the biggest highlights of the Johnson era was in 1993. A 2-4 Illini squad, coming off a big 49-3 win over Iowa, took on the No. 13 Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Johnson, slippery as can be, managed to get loose and throw a game-winning touchdown with under a minute to play.
Johnson helped Illinois get into the national rankings the following season, getting as high as No. 21 in the preseason poll. Despite falling out of the AP Top 25, Johnson managed to get Illinois to a bowl game where we won 30-0 over East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl.
A big moment, a bowl game appearance and win, and quality numbers are all reasons that Johnson is in the top 10 greatest Illinois quarterbacks of all time.