.png) Altmyer with Ole Miss in 2021 | |
| Illinois Fighting Illini – No. 9 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  Junior |
| Major | Sport and Recreation Administration |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | October 22, 2002 Starkville, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College | |
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Starkville (Starkville, Mississippi) |
Luke Altmyer (born October 22, 2002) is an American football quarterback for the Illinois Fighting Illini. He previously played at Ole Miss.
Early years
[edit]Altmyer's hometown is Starkville, Mississippi and he attended Starkville High School. In Altmyer's high school career he completed 454 of his 659 passes for 5,523 yards and 63 touchdowns to ten interceptions. Altmyer also rushed for eight yards and six touchdowns.[1] Altmyer committed to play college football at Ole Miss over schools such as Alabama, Florida State, and LSU.[2][3]
College career
[edit]Ole Miss (2021–2022)
[edit]2021 season
[edit]In the 2022 Sugar Bowl, Altmyer came in the game after starting quarterback Matt Corral went down with an injury. Altmyer went 15 for 28 for 174 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, as the Rebels lost to Baylor 21–7.[4][5] Altmyer finished the 2021 season going 20 for 37 on his passes for 192 yards and a touchdown to two interceptions.[6]
2022 season
[edit]Sophomore Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback to open the 2022 season against Troy with Altmyer serving as the backup.[7] Altmyer would enter the game during the fourth quarter with a 28–10 lead over the Trojans, completing one pass for 13 yards.[8] Altmyer would make his first career start in the Rebels' Week 2 matchup against Central Arkansas.[9] During the game, Altmyer completed 6-of-13 passes for 90 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, while also rushing for a touchdown. However, he exited the game early in the second quarter with an injury.[10][11] After Altmyer's injury, Dart would take over the starting job for the rest of the season. Altmyer finished the season completing 8-of-17 passes for 125 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, while also adding a rushing touchdown.[12] After the season, Altmyer announced his decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal.[13]
Illinois (2023–present)
[edit]2023 season
[edit]On December 29, 2022, Altmyer transferred to Illinois to continue his college career.[14][15] Altmyer was announced as the Illinois starting quarterback for their Week 1 game against Toldeo.[16][17] In his Illinois debut, Altmyer completed 18-of-26 passes for 206 yards with two touchdowns and an interception while also having nine carries for 69 yards rushing in a 30–28 win. Against Florida Atlantic, Altmyer threw for 303 yards and a touchdown while rushing for touchdown in the 23–17 win. Late in fourth quarter against Minnesota, Altmyer was forced to leave due to sustaining an injury. Before leaving he completed 24 passes for 212 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Senior quarterback John Paddock started the final three games of the season for Illinois. In nine games, Altmyer completed 175-of-270 passes for 1,883, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also had 94 rushing attempts for 282 yards and three touchdowns.
2024 season
[edit]Against No. 22 Nebraska, Altmyer completed 21-of-27 passing attempts for 236 yards and four touchdowns to lead Illinois to a 31–24 overtime win. He became the first Illinois quarterback to throw four touchdowns on the road against a top-25 team since Kurt Kittner did it against Michigan in 1999. He also lead the Illini to their second 4–0 start since 1951. For his efforts he was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (shared with Kaleb Johnson of Iowa).[18] With the 4-0 start, Altmyer was the only player in the country to throw double digit touchdowns without throwing a single interception. Altmyer led the Illini to a 9-3 record, with 4 game-winning drives, the most out of any team in the country. Altmyer ended the regular season with 21 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, along with 4 rushing touchdowns. On December 14th, while the Illinois Fighting Illini were hosting the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers in basketball, Altmyer announced his intention to return to the Illini for the 2025 season. The No. 20 Illini played the No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2024 Citrus Bowl, where Altmyer threw for 174 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in a 21-17 victory to give the Illini their first 10 win season since 2001 and first bowl game win since 2011.
College statistics
[edit]| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| Ole Miss Rebels | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 0−0 | 20 | 37 | 54.1 | 192 | 5.2 | 1 | 2 | 95.8 | 21 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | 1−0 | 8 | 17 | 47.1 | 125 | 7.4 | 2 | 1 | 135.9 | 4 | 3 | 0.8 | 1 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 9 | 9 | 4−5 | 175 | 270 | 64.8 | 1,883 | 7.0 | 13 | 10 | 131.9 | 94 | 282 | 3.0 | 3 |
| 2024 | 13 | 13 | 10−3 | 211 | 347 | 60.8 | 2,717 | 7.8 | 22 | 6 | 144.0 | 99 | 217 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Career | 30 | 22 | 15−8 | 414 | 671 | 61.7 | 4,917 | 7.3 | 38 | 19 | 136.3 | 218 | 502 | 2.3 | 8 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Luke Altmyer Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Suss, Nick. "4-star Starkville quarterback Luke Altmyer commits to Ole Miss". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Gabler, Nate (December 4, 2020). "Starkville Quarterback Luke Altmyer Commits to Ole Miss, Flips from Florida State". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Thompson, Jake (April 2022). "Luke Altmyer still trying to shake off Sugar Bowl performance: "I think about it every day"". On3.com. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Suss, Nick. "As Matt Corral's tenure ends, Ole Miss glimpses potential future with QB Luke Altmyer". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "Luke Altmyer 2021 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Gillespie, John Macon (September 3, 2022). "Jaxson Dart Named Starting Quarterback For Ole Miss Season Opener". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ "New Faces Shine for Ole Miss Football in Win Over Troy, 28-10". The Local Voice. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ Katz, Michael (September 5, 2022). "Quarterback Luke Altmyer to get first crack at Central Arkansas, Lane Kiffin reiterates". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Suss, Nick. "Ole Miss football bludgeons Central Arkansas, but a QB injury looms larger". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Burrows, Chris (September 11, 2022). "No. 22 Mississippi starts fast, routs Central Arkansas 59-3". AP News. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "Luke Altmyer 2022 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Eckert, David. "Ole Miss football backup quarterback Luke Altmyer enters transfer portal". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Hall, Erik (December 29, 2022). "Quarterback Luke Altmyer announces transfer from Ole Miss to Illinois football". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Lyons, Dan (December 30, 2022). "Ole Miss QB Luke Altmyer Announces Transfer to Illinois". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Damms, Colin (August 24, 2023). "Former Starkville quarterback Altmyer named starter at Illinois". The Commercial Dispatch. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Media, Field Level (August 21, 2023). "Transfer Luke Altmyer wins Illinois QB job". Roanoke Times. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Washington Earn Weekly Football Honors". Big Ten Conference. Retrieved September 30, 2024.