Despite rumors swirling that Illinois starting quarterback Luke Altmyer will enter the transfer portal, he took to social media on Tuesday to seemingly indicate that he will remain with the Fighting Illini.
Altmyer has spent the past two seasons at Illinois, starting 22 games for head coach Bret Bielema and the Fighting Illini in 2023 and 2024. Prior to his time in Champaign, Altmyer spent two seasons at Ole Miss, playing for head coach Lane Kiffin in 2021 and 2022.
Altmyer will have one year of eligibility remaining in 2025 to continue to play for the Fighting Illini.
One school that was expected to pursue Altmyer if he entered the portal was Tennessee. The Volunteers parted ways with starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava earlier this month. Iamaleava would later enter the transfer portal and eventually transfer to UCLA.
That left Tennessee with a young and inexperienced quarterback room, with only two signal-callers on the roster at the time in redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and four-star true freshman early enrollee George MacIntyre.
However, Tennessee landed a commitment from UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar on Monday. It is unclear if Altmyer had any interest in joining in the Volunteers.
In 2024, Altmyer started all 13 games for Illinois, leading the Fighting Illini to a 10-3 record, including a Citrus Bowl win over South Carolina. He completed 211 out of his 347 pass attempts (61-percent) for 2,717 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also recorded 217 rushing yards and four additional scores.
According to Pro Football Focus, Altmyer played 822 total offensive snaps in 2024. He recorded an overall offensive grade of 76.4 and a passing game grade of 74.7.
In 22 career games with Illinois, Altmyer completed 386 passes out of 617 attempts (63-percent) for 4,600 yards, 35 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He has also rushed 193 times for 499 yards and seven touchdowns.
Altmyer appeared in nine games while he was at Ole Miss. He completed 28 out of his 54 pass attempts (51.9-percent) for 317 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for a touchdown.
As a recruit out of Starkville High School in Mississippi, Altmyer was rated as a four-star prospect in the class of 2021. He was a Rivals250 member, checking in as the No. 239 overall recruit nationally. Altmyer also ranked as the No. 6 player in Mississippi and the No. 12 pro-style quarterback in the cycle.
Stay locked in on the Rivals Transfer Tracker to keep up with the latest transfer news, portal entries, commitments, and rankings. For a deep-dive into the transfer portal, make sure you visit the Rivals Transfer Search page.
The Rivals Transfer Portal X account is a must-follow for any college football fan.
The spring college football transfer portal window is scheduled to open on April 16, 2025 for 10 days. It is the second transfer window of the 2025 recruiting cycle. The winter college football transfer portal window opened on Dec. 9, 2024 for 20 days. There was also a five-day window for players to transfer after their team finished postseason play. Additionally, players get a 30-day window to transfer when their head coach leaves.
