Can the Illinois Quarterbacks Continue to Improve? 2024 Position Preview

Previewing the Illinois Quarterbacks for 2024

The Starter

Regardless of how people want to look at him, Luke Altmyer should be penciled in as the QB1 coming into the 2024 year. The Ole Miss transfer showcased his dynamic running, and improving passing abilities that led to promising results. However, he also went through some growing pains which included throwing five interceptions against Penn State early last season and getting sacked a Big Ten-high 34 times. While he did struggle in the passing department, he was dynamic when utilizing his running abilities.

It could be argued that he was one of the best rushing options the Illini had last year when he was healthy. He was 3rd on the team in rushing yards behind day one starter Reggie Love and emerging freshman Kaden Faegin. If Altmeyer can clean up the passing aspect of his game, he becomes an even more dangerous weapon in the offense.

The Backup Quarterback

As Illinois fans are familiar with, backup quarterbacks are an integral part of a team. They tend to be a great locker room presence and they may even come in to win a game or two for your team. That’s exactly what transpired last year with John Paddock. However, Paddock graduated and redshirt sophomore Donovan Leary takes the role of the backup.

He committed to Bret Bielema in 2022, and this is the closest he has been to seeing action on the field. He was a three-star recruit out of New Jersey with offers from Boston College, Rutgers, Maryland, and others. He chose to play for Illinois and Bret Bielema. He is hoping that his time will soon come when he can make an impact on the field. He showed some flashes during the spring game in April, including a couple of really nicely-thrown balls for touchdowns.

For this upcoming year, the most likely scenario of Leary getting on the field would be if Altmyer gets hurt. Almyer has had some injury history so it’s imperative for Leary to stay prepared if the Illini call his number.

The Depth

Behind Altmyer and Leary, there are unproven young guys who possess talent. First is junior depth option, Kirkland Michaux. He was a talented baseball player before transitioning to the gridiron. Next is redshirt freshman Cal Swanson from Oklahoma. He can make plays with his legs, but he still has to refine his passing abilities if he wants to see game action. Then, behind him would be freshman Trey Petty. Petty is a highly-regarded recruit from Starkville, Mississippi.

Funny enough, Petty and Altmyer were high school teammates. That played a part in the Illini’s pitch to get Petty to don the Orange and Blue. Illinois was able to land a commitment from him, but it wasn’t easy. His home state school, Mississippi State, was also investing a lot of time and effort to try and flip Petty’s services. Ultimately, the Illini won out in that recruitment and they hope that he can be their starting quarterback in three years.

Expectations for the Quarterbacks

An ideal situation for Illini fans is that Altmyer is able to build off of his year last year and make smarter, quicker decisions with the football in his hands. This would reduce the amount of interceptions he threw last year and how many sacks he took. Additionally, the only time Illini fans hope to see Donovan Leary in action is during mop-up duties of a blowout win. The Illini look to do that in their first slate of games as they face Eastern Illinois and Central Michigan. Even with new weapons at the wide receiver position, the goal would be for the Illini to continue to be a top-half passing attack even in the expanded Big Ten.