What Is the Secret Behind Illinois Quarterback Luke Altmyer's Success?

How Luke Altmyer does more with less

It can be a touchy subject, this business of physical tools. Some guys have them and don't know how to use them. Some aren't given credit for what they possess. Sometimes the eye test lies. But the truth in this case is plain: Altmyer, at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, doesn't have the biggest frame, the strongest arm or the fleetest feet at his position. But so what? He has a wealth of other attributes that make him a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. Lunney lays out the evidence pretty convincingly:

1. Luke Altmyer, driving and dishing

"I get asked sometimes, like in the media stuff that we do, like the TV media, 'What would you say Luke's greatest attribute is, or the greatest thing he does?'" Lunney said. "And, really, at the end of the day, I would say that he plays point guard as a quarterback. He gets rid of the ball, and he sees the field well, and he sees open space, and he gets the ball out of his hand. So that's the first thing: I think he's got good vision."

Hard to argue with that. Altmyer routinely spreads the ball around, getting through his progressions quickly to his second and third reads. Fifteen different Illini (in addition to Altmyer himself) have receptions through seven games this season, and a dozen have at least three catches. He ranks among the nation's top 10 in completion percentage, yards per attempt, interception rate and quarterback rating. Altmyer has also consistently improved at seeing – to the point of almost sensing – the pass rush to protect possessions and take some heat off his offensive line.

2. Experience and comfort

Lunney believes Altmyer's first college tour – at Ole Miss – helped set him up for success at Illinois."He spent roughly two years of the first part of his college career playing in a system that was predicated on tempo," Lunney said. "And so he had a great deal training in that. And so we've made kind of a hybrid mix of that to fit what we feel is the best for our formula to win."

Altmyer seems most comfortable working at pace, locking into a rhythm and working against a defense that has little time for substitutions and scheming. His confidence seems to visibly swell, and receivers such as Hank Beatty and Collin Dixon seem to understand the assignment: quickly find the soft spot in coverage, get to the sticks and be ready to catch because the ball is often there by the time they get their head turned.

3. Decisions, decisions

It's often paid lip service when discussing quarterback play in general, but it's also one of the most overlooked characteristics when shining a light on a specific player. Humming a 20-yard out route to the sideline in the blink of an eye is sexy. Checking down on second-and-long to avoid a bad throw, reduce the probability of an interception and put an offense in a favorable third-and-short scenario? Snooze. But guess what? Boring is what builds drives.

"At the end of the day, he's got the ball in his hands a lot, whether we're going fast or not," Lunney said of Altmyer. Lunney estimates that Illinois runs roughly 65 plays per game, and Altmyer has to make a decision – or a series of them – on about 50.

"Anytime you're a shotgun-based team, when you're facing the line and the back's here or there, there's decisions to be made on every play," Lunney said. "'Am I giving it? Am I pulling it? Am I throwing off the extra defender? Am I checking to the pass here?' or whatnot. And our offense isn't unique to college football. It's just when you're in the shotgun, it adds an element of decision-making, and that's one of the advantages of the system, I think."

Giving a smart, poised quarterback such as Altmyer an opportunity to survey the field and make the best decision possible based on the matrix of game factors in the moment is the whole point. His physical tools, it should be noted, are impressive – if not elite. But more than ever, quarterback play has to do with what a guy has above the neck, not below it.

"Is he making more decisions now than he did when he came here?" Lunney asked hypothetically. "Maybe a handful more, but not a whole lot more. I just think he's making a lot of really good ones – and he's gonna have to do that on Saturday as well."