No. 6 Tommy DeVito
This might be the most controversial player to be on this list of the greatest quarterbacks to come through Champaign. But the numbers Tommy DeVito put up in the one season at Illinois were special.
It is really tough to gauge the historical presence of a player who only spent one season with the team, but I think DeVito earned his spot on this list. After spending four seasons with the Syracuse Orange, DeVito hit the transfer portal and was a huge addition to the Illinois squad for the 2022 campaign.
In the only season DeVito was with the Illini, he threw for 2,650 yards, 15 touchdowns, and four interceptions. DeVito was the most efficient quarterback the program has ever seen as well.
DeVito had a 90.9% completion rate against Nebraska that season, which set the school record for a single-game completion percentage. He also completed 69.6% of his passes during the 2022 campaign, which was another Illinois record for single-season completion percentage.
On top of those great numbers, DeVito had a 3.75 touchdown-to-interception ratio, which leads all Illinois quarterbacks who had at least 200 attempts during their career in Champaign.
DeVito didn’t just put up good numbers either. He helped lead the Illinois offense to a bowl game for only the third time in 11 seasons. Illinois also had eight regular season wins in 2022, which were the most from the program since the 2007 Rose Bowl season.
It was sad Illinois fans only got one season from DeVito before he went to the NFL. That one season was special, though. DeVito set records and took Illinois to heights we hadn’t seen in decades.