I don’t necessarily disagree that he might only get 3 years, but citing the fact they were in BIG championship game to say it wasn’t a total rebuild is pretty misleading. It’s not like that team was great — 8-5 regular season (6-3 in conference) and finished year unranked. They got to championship game because of relatively bad West division. I don’t know him many players from that team weren’t around last year because of graduation and portal, but I’d guess it’s far more that it would have been 10 years ago — especially with the coaching change — when there wasn’t the penalty free transferring. Especially with a coaching change.
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
I would say 8-5, 6-3 is the very definition of "not a total rebuild", if not even better, regardless of opponent strength or the size of the portal. Walters has new opponents this year, sure, but so does everyone else. And we're all using the same portal.
Our own 2-10 or 1-11 seasons are not that far in the past, relatively speaking. He was handed plenty to work with and (pass the popcorn) is falling apart this year.
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
This kid is a stud
Hard pass. Got to be at 2.5 on TD passes.
Yup … It’s bowl or you’re done next year for Walters … Purdue doesn’t expect to go 10-2 but they do expect 6-6 at worst …
And we better not freaking lose to them this year … Absolutely unacceptable if we do …
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
We need to return the favor from last year. I’ll settle for a W but I hope we curb stomp them
I’m limiting access to game plans and practice that week…
If you have never seen Mr. Boyd throw a football. It equivalent of baseball coming off Ontani's bat. He has a rocket.
Kid has the chance to be SPECIAL …
Barry & Art have really, really upgraded the talent in that QB room … Feel bad but someone’s gonna be the odd man out this offseason …
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Agreed. Even with the understanding the offensive philosophy and QB traits being sought by each coaching staff was very different, you can't ignore the talent difference here.
2019 QB Room
Brandon Peters (Junior)
Matt Robinson (R-Freshman)
Coran Taylor (R-Freshman)
Isaiah Williams (Freshman)
Deuce Spann (Commit)
2024 QB Room
Luke Altmyer (R-Junior)
Donovan Leary (R-Sophomore)
Kirkland Michaux (R-Junior)
Cal Swanson (R-Freshman)
Trey Petty (Freshman)
Carson Boyd (Commit)
The only way Swanson gets on the field is if he changes positions. Leary has talent but how many guys wait until their 5th season to play.
I think Michaux traveled ahead of Swanson to the NEB game. Yeah, not a great sign for his QB prospects unfortunately
Leary was also recruited to play under the Petersen system. I'd love it if he decided to stick it out here...but I have a feeling that the starting job in 2026 will be centered on Petty vs Boyd.
Just looking at six names in the list tells me 2 gone is probably a minimum. 3 gone, or 2 gone plus a position switch, seems possible too.
How do you keep six QBs happy...
Hasn't Johnny Newton's brother been told he'd have a shot at QB too? I assume we're just thinking he's going to be moved eventually
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Great point, happy to put him on the list because IW11 had a similar deal when coming in.
It's tough. Swanson seems much more likely to see that he is being passed by those younger than him and likely looks for a competition opportunity at a school like Tulsa or a MAC school.
Currently, Leary has a tough choice. Choice of a chance to start for one year at Illinois or two years at a lower-level program? The staff thinks he's progressed and is now firmly the #2 QB on the roster. His best opportunity could be to stay here and sit for one more year, but that would mean one year maximum as a starter. Let's assume Altmyer stays relatively healthy this year and next year, then Illinois has to enter the 2026 season with Leary as starter and he's only thrown limited career passes.
The other choice is to transfer. He's only thrown five career passes and wasn't a top QB recruit, so it would take a big leap from a coaching staff to bring him in as an expected starter. I can't envision a P4 program willing to take on that much risk, especially for a QB that has a max of two eligibility years. A MAC/C-USA program could be willing to take that leap, but even a program like that would want to hedge their bets and bring in a second QB that would compete. If he's wanting a chance at two years starting (who wouldn't), the best thing that could happen for Leary is Altmyer has a short-term injury and he gets a couple starts this year to show other programs what he's capable of.
Yes … They’re going to give him a shot at QB …
blackdog
- Champaign
Or even better case scenario is Luke continues to play out of his mind all year and right into the draft, leaving the door open for two years of Leary.
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Interesting that Clay Patterson ended up at Stanford. I’d love to know what went wrong here.