Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer

you have Hank who out there making plays Alex cap Jones kind of came in with me kind of the same timeline making plays out there and a lot of competition going on uh it's so cool to see we have so many guys out there you know making big catches you know making Big Blocks um up front I mean that camaraderie that uh that unit is unlike um you know any other just the the Brotherhood the bond they have and the connection and uh the trust I have in them is you know doesn't really have to be said it's really understood you want to quarterback building around you to how's that feeling what do you think they set yeah it's cool uh you know coach B and Loney uh I mean you kind of what role is to build their player strengths and uh me being in the quarterback role um you know they're going to do that they voed that to me and you know whatever those they think those strengths are they're they're going to play into it obviously for our success and um it's really cool to be in that position as a quarterback and kind of see the pieces fit around you but um ultimately I just want to do my job as as everybody else does so um whether that's Distributing the ball managing a game or taking big shots or making big runs whatever um I need to do um I'm going to do it to the best of my ability ask about the new guys how about the returning guys what kind of development have you seen from those ring weapons yeah a lot of great leadership you know kind of starting off of uh you know Pat Bryant obviously represent presented us at media day and um has been an incredible leader for that room and you know a guy that everybody looks to um not even on the field but you know throughout the offseason in the weight room his work ethic the way he um you know approaches his day-to-day life every single day and uh he's due for a big big one a big season and I already in two days we've we've connected a few times in the end zone so um I'm just looking forward to to to being a good quarterback for him getting him the ball and to see his success and um so many other guys too obviously we got a a lot of different receivers out there a lot of newer guys lost some good guys and up front the leadership of you know Josh Cruz Z Chrysler gesy and uh some other guys Hunter wh neck man have have really been cool to see them all compete see them all kind of take steps in kind of uh year two maybe year three and in their starting roles so um those guys are confident as they should be and uh I'm glad to be back there with them and you know obviously the backs too and and some of the tight end like Tanner AR and Henry Boer have done incredible and are super confident in their roles and got McCrae Fagan Aiden lawrey Jordan Anderson who are taking big strides and guys who are going to get downhill and run around you and uh you know pass protect do all those things so um you know I'm surrounded by a lot of great talent you know I think it's up to me to kind of do my job be in my role and uh be a great leader and you know distribute the ball where it needs to be distributed you talk about like the competitiveness in like the in these sessions and you know the respect that it also commands from these different guys can you kind of talk to about you know why that's so important to have that competitive nature between your receivers as well as you know the you know want to compete against each other for a spot in order to make an impact yeah I mean that's what Camp's all about really is competition you know seeing who's going to be the 11 out there or in that rotation you know when that first snap comes uh in week one that's what it's all about that's why we're here uh to be able to uh compete against one another obviously we're on the same team but uh you know man so much growth happen through uh competing I've experienced it um you know where where I was at you know um and you know every single day I'm competing with myself but obviously my peers too and um you get so much better from it you know when your back's against the walls when uh you know the guy next to you is making a lot of plays you got to step up and you know go match him and you know once you do that like you just grow and grow and grow physically mentally and um I think it really helps you later on in life too obviously haven't experienced that but I know it will and uh it's really cool to see how Zari I don't know how much he's been able to work with you guys but like what you stood out about him what do you think he adds to that gr yeah so we've only had two days out there with him on the field so still learning about his game we've I mean in the summer we had some Thro in sessions a little bit and obviously has a lot of film too to to kind of speak for speak for itself what you think of that uh pretty leered uh you know guy go make contested catches catch and run guy possession guy uh great route Runner um kind of has the full package and like I said his yards his receiving yards his production speaks for itself so um I've had two days out there with him he's already made a lot of plays and uh just brings a savviness that is unique to the game because of because of his experience and uh his wiggle his shift is is really unique and uh really cool and I was able to kind of live with him for two weeks when he first got here too so uh being able to kind of connect with him and you know kind of grow a friendship was was really cool and I think was necessary so it's been I'm excited to watch him go do what he does this year what was he like his roommate oh he's he's he's a really cool dude he's an older guy so he kind of kept to himself but uh we had a lot of fun uh and uh I think he's taking over my spot I moved uh I moved in with Cole Rusk so he took over my spot and uh he likes living alone I know that but he's awesome you said you're looser this year what's the difference between a looser mindset versus a I guess tighter mindset from last year yeah um you know I think looking back on last year uh you know I think at times uh kind of as the season progressed I you know I got a little hesitant uh you know with my decision making uh and uh you know being afraid to make mistakes sometimes and um I think that was um you know a product of me being in my first year kind of you know kind of Illinois coming off a really really big year uh and two years ago and me being in that role wanting to you know kind of match that and even do better with all the talent that we had uh you know I was kind of tense and you know kind of nervous at times to to make mistakes and you know I feel like this year with the help that I've had through you know Jason everon and some of the counselors here um the the mental uh the mental side of my life and the game and the tools that I've obtained of um have really uh flourished and come into fruition out there on the field in two days and you know I can see it when I'm turn on the film and I can feel it when I'm on the field just the um just like I said the looseness the confidence that I have out there just in my walk and my talk and and what I'm doing and and I'm I'm really excited I'm really confident for a really big year and I really believe that you feel like your coaches too have have supported you towards that to I guess give you freedom to fail so to speak yeah I mean they they they support me fully fully to go cut it Loose you know coach lny I mean he he dials it up he's he's he's one of if not the best I've been around and you know calling plays and uh he's going to push the ball down field you know ask me to throw it inside windows and um I mean obviously we want to you know play it with controlled aggression uh you know you know at all times but um you know there's there's sight windows and there's plays to be made out there on that field and you know if you know I make a mistake out there you know once and I mean he'll be able to live with it because I'm out there being my most confident self and knowing that you know I'm not afraid to make a mistake and you can't play this game you know um you know being hesit Ted and um you know I think that's what they're looking for uh for me to to be in year two Barry talked about just your comfort within the offense having a full season under your belt how much does that help you and maybe every other aspect of of being quarterback the football team yeah it's it's it's a unique it's my you know first time in my four years having a back-to-back coordinator so um um this is kind of my first time kind of really experienc it going into camp and you know I can um just see it come to life the comfort that I have out there man and and the plays that we're running the protections that were're scheming up the the Run game and um under understanding what he wants uh to to accomplish as um as a play caller as a coordinator as our leader and um being able to understand kind of um his mindset you know within a call what he's looking for within a call and to be able to execute that is um you know just a huge advantage to to kind of play and to kind of get inside his mind of you know why he's calling this play or why he's putting this put me in this position uh um as a as an offense you know where he thinks his ball should go type things in this coverage whatever and this look I mean I can really understand that and uh um I can see that coming to fruition and kind of year two mentioned Malik and canari obviously Ste in bigger roles have you seen them kind of progress since the spring when they got a ton of reps if you yeah just like me I think just more Comfort man uh you know two guys who were kind of just learning last year who who played a little bit and uh did some good things for us uh um but uh those guys are flying around they're playing fast because they're they're pretty comfortable not just on the field but with the people around them their teammates man they're um they're great people they have great spirits you know every single day they come in they make me smile when you know things may be hard outside or or whatever man they uh they pick me up and um you know that Spirit Carries out onto the field with their speed their um their abilities and uh they're going to be has to be put in big roles this year and as they should they're they're ready for that moment that comfort that looseness that you talked about when did you first start feeling that like could it only be done in Spring ball or did you feel it like in maybe other aspects of your life away from football and it translated into the spring yeah uh well I talked about it a little bit man the help that um I wouldn't say the help but just kind of you know the ability to or the the moments of kind of hardship and suffering of last year were you know provided a lot of perspective for me provided you know uh and helped me understand that I needed to to kind of grow my mental side of my life in in this game because it can be really taxing there's a lot of people out there who um you say you can't do this say you can't do that they call you a lot of bad names and it can be tough and as the first year of a starter I kind of uh realized that and it helded me back in a lot of ways and um and kind of going into this year 2024 man uh you know I really sought sought after that help with like I said Jason erson who's the preacher of Cu Church who's incredible who's in our building almost every single day and um being able to to kind of grow my faith with him and help me on the mental side of the game and even some of our you know Sports psychologists here at University Illinois man they've been incredible an incredible help you know I've even referenced some of my teammates to uh to to those guys who have reached out to them but um ultimately you know being able to get back on the field is you know when I I kind of really first experienced uh kind of that that new confidence the the tools that I've learned from Jason the sports psychologist to um you know kind of help me understand the mindset that I needed to have to to go out there to to be able to execute and to be able to to be free um it really helps me and that's a that's a daily thing I'm still with those guys uh and daily and you know I can see that com to fruition uh out in the field I feel loose I feel feel mindless I just feel kind of great in space and uh really comfortable this is a definitely a pivot but have you played the cball game much absolutely yeah yeah I mean it's I mean I grew up playing it as everybody did obviously with um and and just dreamed about you know one day being uh being in the game uh and so I mean it's it's super unique obviously an opportunity and um yeah I mean a lot of a lot of competitions between my friends and uh wantan to play me play as me play against me just to beat up with me whatever but um it's been fun I mean as you guys can imagine seeing yourself on a game is is incredible but um you know I'm trying to you know boost that rating week by week I guess uh but no it's cool it's awesome what do you think about your initial rank the rating n it's too low but not worried about it um trying the one thing I was worried about was the speed I mean we have two quarterbacks in the room who were faster than me on the game and that's just not true and uh to be that low is a shame it's bad theyve down faster no no way no way I mean you talk about playing grown up but like if that was the same game now like it just would have been like be number nine like just see Luke Alm like and kind of your face I mean that's yeah no that face scan is bad too but um but yeah being able to choose your favorite team is Illinois and seeing like kind of the cover picture being me is uh crazy like it's kind of um is a is a shocking kind of deal uh you know kind of um you know reflecting on you know kind of your football background and you know seeing where where you came from to now is uh you know kind of allows you to sit back can be thankful for for those things and um I don't know it's just it's super cool R's prays the the death in the room for quarterbacks particularly conovan how have you seen him progress yeah he's he's been incredible um uh you know every single day like I we're talking about competing earlier uh you know this what Camp's about man he we we compete you know he's he's a guy who makes plays out there who who has a great arm and a great mind for the game and he he executes and um I know if you were go out there play 12 weeks of football he would go win some games for us win a lot of games for us and uh he's been incredible uh in the in the meeting room on the field and in the weight room um his leadership like like I said I feel loose he's loose out there too and um he he's growing every single day he's going to be a great player one day look everybody leads differently how have you learn to lead this team yeah I mean um it's it's uh it's Unique you know kind of where I've been at um and where I am now man two different totally different teams two teams who respond respond differently to to different ways of leadership whether it's vo vocally or just an intensity that is unmatched man and um you know I think ultimately the best leadership is you know a servant a guy and that comes from my faith obviously but a guy who you know give the shirt off his back to to his teammate and let them know that whether it's through um voley or um you know on the field the intensity that you bring or whatever it is but and uh you know kind of my thing is man go out there and love every single day you know connect individual individually with somebody every single day and and they'll pick up on that they'll notice that and whenever you speak they'll listen more for Luke Luke when we got Pat last week at Indy he said that he was watching you at the end of the year when you were qb2 in practice and did you kind of get that notice or feeling that a lot of guys in the soccer room are watching how I'm going to react to this and he kind of said at Indie that was when I knew next year I could really really buy into what he was going to do yeah um yeah I knew I mean the quarterback position is obviously a position that you know everybody in the program everybody all the fans are going to are going to be looking at whether that's you know a new starter a new a new backup a guy who was starting for nine weeks and is now you know in the backup roll like that didn't go unnoticed so you know I kind of had that in the back of my mind and man I just try to approach approach every single day the the game uh you know um every single day is you know the same guy to be dependable um and uh you knew that you know I Was preparing to to go play and uh although it was really really hard uh it's something that I didn't want but you know I think uh like I said it's what it was what I needed um and I knew God was you know really planning me to to to Really flourish in this time and um you know holds me like I've always said man my teammates been the most to me and and if if I went out there pouting and you know kind of hanging my head they would notice that like I said with you know the position I'm in uh so um yeah even though it was hard sometimes I force it in a lot of ways but uh at the same time and like I'm out there for those guys and to be an encourager and to be a good leader a