‘You could have a reality TV show and it’d be the number one hit’ — Illinois QB Luke Altmyer responds to question about Tennessee’s interest in him in the transfer portal
The Illini’s starting QB stuck with his school after the Nico Iamaleava fiasco.
The Tennessee Vols’ 2025 offseason was the story of college football for months. With Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee parting ways on the eve of the spring game, Tennessee’s pursuit of his replacement involved a number of candidates and storylines.
One of those candidates was Illinois starting quarterback Luke Altmyer. The Vols were previously linked to the veteran QB, but he ultimately never left Champaign.
Ironically, Tennessee will face off against him just eight calendar months removed from their pursuit of him. The Vols and Illini will square off in the Music City Bowl in December 30. Altmyer was asked about Tennessee’s pursuit of him recently, and while he took the high road, he acknowledged the dramatic nature of college football nowadays.
Luke Altmyer says college football is the ‘number one’ reality TV show’
“Yeah, it’s an interesting thing,” Altmyer said. “A lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, but the bottom line is I’m going to go play their best eleven and we’re going to have our best eleven out there. The world of college football is crazy, as we all know. A lot of things going on there for sure. But yeah, I don’t know. My focus is going to go be prepared for what they bring at us. it’s going to be the same. There’s not going to be a whole lot of thought within the snap of all the extracurricular stuff.
“But college football is crazy. Always thought you could have a reality TV show and it’d be the number one hit on whatever it is. I love it. It’s always been my dream to play at this level. So, with all the extracurricular stuff is cool, I guess. I don’t know. But I love to play. I’ll remember the game forever. I’ll remember playing with my guys forever. Super excited about it.”
That’s a pretty fair answer, and he’s certainly right about the state of affairs in college football right now. In the transfer portal world, there’s a lot more drama and uncertainty than there ever has been in the sport from year to year.
In the end, however, things worked out well for both parties. Altmyer had a solid season statistically – 2811 passing yards, 21 TDs, 5 INTs – while Joey Aguilar has powered the Vols’ offense to the top-scoring unit in the SEC.
We’ll see which of the two will end their season on a high note when toe meets leather inside Nissan Stadium at the end of the month.
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