Nico Iamaleava. When it comes to the transfer portal this offseason, the former Tennessee Volunteer has CERTAINLY dominated the headlines for college football. He has, WITHOUT QUESTION, been the player that fans have been talking about at the water cooler at work.

It’s rather upsetting that Nico’s selfishness has been the main topic of conversation these past couple of weeks. But in other news, there is another college quarterback out there who made a major decision on his future. And as a loyal fan of the Fighting Illini……I can tell you right now that I am absolutely STOKED about it.

NEW: QB Luke Altmyer has announced he’s staying at Illinois despite transfer portal rumors🟠https://t.co/zSy9Wb1lUu pic.twitter.com/erekIlJYcX

— On3 (@On3sports) April 22, 2025

Luke Altmyer, a four year player who’s played at both Ole Miss and Illinois, will reportedly be returning to Champaign for the upcoming 2025 season. In his two seasons with Brett Bielema’s team, the Starkville native has put up a stat-line consisting of;

62.6 Cmp%, 4600 Yds, 35 TDs, 16 INTs, 138.7 RATE

He has been a workhorse for this program in the two years that he’s been here, fighting through the pain of the 2023 season, while leading the team to a 21-17 Citrus Bowl victory against the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2024. After much speculation that he would be heading south to take over for the aforementioned Iamaleava’s job at Tennessee……it looks like Luke will be staying home, and will remain faithful to the program.

I absolutely LOVE this move! I love the fact that we have this leader in Luke Altmyer, who would rather help take the Illini to the next level, over heading to the SEC to join the Vols. I LOVE the fact that he wants to “run it back” with the navy and orange, and build on the success that the team had the previous year. This is especially true after seeing this squad lose star RB Josh McCray to Georgia through the portal. They needed a “pick me up,” to get them through the next couple of months.

Will this be enough to keep them in contention this year, or even just ranked in the Top-25? I think so! This team needed a leader on the field, and they got it. They need depth through the portal, and they’re working on it. Their schedule this upcoming year looks rather tasty, with their games against Ohio State and Indiana being the only real concerns as of writing this.

But out of anything……securing Luke was the most important domino of the off-season. Now that that drama’s done, we can move forward and start securing the rest of the roster.

But in the end, as always…..what do I know? I’m just a guy from the Midwest, with a beer and a laptop, trying to make sense of this world.