Luke Altmyer (born October 22, 2002) is an American football quarterback for the Illinois Fighting Illini. He previously played at Ole Miss.
Early years
Altmyer attended Starkville High School in Starkville, Mississippi, where he completed 454 of 659 passes for 5,523 yards and 63 touchdowns to ten interceptions and rushed for six touchdowns.[1] He committed to play college football at Ole Miss over schools such as Alabama, Florida State, and LSU.[2]
College career
Ole Miss (2021–2022)
2021 season
In the 2022 Sugar Bowl, Altmyer replaced injured starter Matt Corral and went 15 for 28 for 174 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in a 21–7 loss to Baylor.[3] He finished the season going 20 for 37 on his passes for 192 yards and a touchdown to two interceptions.[4]
2022 season
Altmyer opened the 2022 season against Troy as the backup to starter Jaxson Dart, completing one pass for 13 yards in the fourth quarter of the win.[5] He made his first career start in week 2 against Central Arkansas.[6] 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.[7] After Altmyer's injury, Dart took 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.[4] After the season, Altmyer announced his decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal.[8]
Illinois (2023–present)
2023 season
On December 29, 2022, Altmyer transferred to Illinois.[9] He was announced as the team's starting quarterback for their season opener against Toldeo.[10] 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 in a 30–28 win. Against Florida Atlantic, he threw for 303 yards and a touchdown while rushing for touchdown in the 23–17 win. Against Minnesota, Altmyer completed 24 passes for 212 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception before getting injured late in fourth quarter. 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
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 against Michigan in 1999. Altmyer 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).[11] With the 4-0 start, Altmyer was the only player in the country to throw double digit touchdowns without throwing an interception. He led the Illini to a 9-3 record, with four game-winning drives, the most out of any team in the country. Altmyer ended the regular season with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions, along with four rushing touchdowns. On December 14, 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
| 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
- ^ "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.
- ^ Suss, Nick. "As Matt Corral's tenure ends, Ole Miss glimpses potential future with QB Luke Altmyer". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "Luke Altmyer College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Damms, Colin (August 24, 2023). "Former Starkville quarterback Altmyer named starter at Illinois". The Commercial Dispatch. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Washington Earn Weekly Football Honors". Big Ten Conference. Retrieved September 30, 2024.