The Illinois football team is sitting pretty in the AP Poll rankings after putting a premium on limiting turnovers this season.
The Fighting Illini are led once again by quarterback Luke Altmyer, a talented player who previously struggled with holding onto the ball. Altmyer went down with an injury last season and finished the year with ten interceptions in nine games.
Altmyer showed true promise as the Illinois quarterback after transferring from Ole Miss to find playing time. This season thus far, Altmyer has proven that he has the ability to win games for his football team as well as take care of the football. The quarterback has thrown zero interceptions through three games for Illinois.
While three games may not seem like a big deal, Altmyer has not gone this long without an interception before. The quarterback currently has six total touchdowns and has been the leader for the team early on despite a lackluster offensive line.
Altmyer has been sacked five times already this season, including three sacks against Central Michigan, who is supposed to be one of the easier games on the schedule.
Illinois Football Thriving as Quarterback Luke Altmyer Turns a New Page
If there was one thing that could have potentially derailed the career of Altmyer, it was not injuries, but rather interceptions.
Altmyer has always struggled with turning the ball over, and it was an issue he even had during his time with Ole Miss. The quarterback was a garbage time player for the Rebels, but made a start against Baylor in the 2021 All-State Sugar Bowl. Altmyer threw three interceptions in just 54 pass attempts during two seasons with the Rebels.
However, the Illinois football leader has sured up his interception issues and it is not just because there has not been one in three games.
Altmyer has seemed more poised and confident as he delivers strikes from the pocket to his open receivers. The quarterback looks comfortable moving outside of the pocket as well and has shown great accuracy while rolling out. Altmyer has worked on his ‘internal clock’, and recognizes when he must exit the pocket much better than he has in recent years.
Perhaps the aspect that Altmyer has fixed the most is his so called ‘panic button’ that he would often hit. Altmyer would be in trouble and feel the pressure, and then throw up a pass that was not going to reach the intended target. Little errors like that kept the quarterback from truly flourishing last season, and also added to his interception total in the process.
Illinois has been doing a lot right as a team as well this season, which goes far beyond the quarterback position and Altmyer. The defense for the Fighting Illini in particular has been excellent so far, with three interceptions and a handful of sacks against a ranked Kansas Jayhawks.
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