Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer discusses how he's trying to improve his NFL Draft stock

USA Today

5 hours ago

Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer discusses how he's trying to improve his NFL Draft stock In 2023, he had a 13-10 TD pass to INT ratio, 7.0 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 131.9. Last season, he improved those numbers to 22-6, 7.8 and 144.0
If you look at national college football starting quarterback power rankings, you'll often see Illinois Fighting Illini signal caller Luke Altmyer near the top. Among Big Ten QB1s, Altmyer is the highest tier of power rankings. However, if you look at NFL Draft prospect rankings for 2026, you won't often see Altmyer's name.
This, despite all that he's accomplished at the collegiate level thus far. Altmyer has another chance this year at Illinois to get his name into the draft prospect conversation. When you look at his career arc, it's very likely that the Starkville, MS native and Ole Miss transfer will do so.
In 2023, he had a 13-10 TD pass to INT ratio, 7.0 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 131.9. Last season, while leading the Illini to a 10 win season that included a New Year's bowl victory, he improved those numbers to 22-6, 7.8 and 144.0
To quote Disco Stu from The Simpsons, "if these trends continue...hey!"
Altmyer was on hand for Illini Night at Wrigley Field, meeting the media at a private function just outside the Friendly Confines. The Illinois quarterback would later sing the seventh inning stretch of Cubs vs Brewers, alongside his coach Bret Bielema, who told the fans who had traveled in from Wisconsin to "sit down." Prior to the distinctive "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" rendition, Altmyer provided some memorable soundbites.
Asked what he's doing to work on his game, and improve his NFL Draft stock, he answered:
"All areas, physically, I want to get better at my strength, my speed, my agility, my body control.
"There's so many things that scouts and teams look at within a player that can go and help their team, and that's what I'm doing every single day.
"It's what I did this morning, you know, to get stronger, to work on my balance, my health, my ability to sustain the season without injury, all that stuff. So I'm working really hard to do it.
"So hopefully they see that on the field in 2025, but intangibly, it's those things I work on every single day too. I mean, the scouts and those NFL teams that pay the big bucks, they look into every little bit. So I just try to do whatever I can to be in that position one day, but there's tons of areas in my game I can get better at."
On this current Illini squad, one that is widely considered to be a leading College Football Playoff contender in 2025, the individual player with the highest NFL Draft stock is edge rusher Gabe Jacas.
"He's gonna make a lot of money in the NFL one day, probably," Altmyer said of Jacas.
There are many factors in Altmyer's favor, one of which is his having experience in the two biggest college football conferences. While it's technically a "power four" these days, it's really more of a "power two" in the Big Ten and SEC. Altmyer has experience playing in both, and with that he's on the radar of coaches and personnel in both the south and the north.
These people all know NFL people, and that can only help his professional prospects.
Altmyer discussed his decision to leave Mississippi for Illinois, and why he decided to stay when the SEC offers came rolling again this offseason.
"It's a long way from home, I'll tell you that," Altmyer added.
"Out of high school, I didn't have a Big 10 offer at all, so it's something that's super foreign to me. I didn't grow up watching Big 10 football, and so it was definitely a mental hump that I had to get over, but it was the right thing to do. I knew that hump and that change and that growth would only bring out the best to me.
"So it was definitely difficult, because it was change and growth, new people, new area, new everything, but I know that it's that hump that makes me who I am every single day.
"So it's been great. My family's grown to love this place, Illinois, Chicago, Champaign, whatever it is. And so my friends, they all got their their calendar circled, all for the dates that they'll be up here to watch, and it's just it's a good time to be a little football fan."