ESPN Anchor Shows Some Love For Illini QB Scott Van Pelt

Shandel Richardson | Sep 24, 2024

Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) warms up before a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer is finally starting to get some national love from the media.

After leading the Fighting Illini to a 4-0 record to start the season, his name came up on the podcast for ESPN's Scott Van Pelt.

"Luke Altmyer, their quarterback, was excellent," Van Pelt said on SVPod. "They had all sorts of Red Zone plays with play-actions that they found guys for touchdowns. And they score in overtime in two plays."

The Illini are coming off an upset of then No. 22 Nebraska last Friday. They are now the No. 19 team in the entering Saturday's showdown against No. 9 Penn State.

Much of the success is because of Altmyer. He threw for four touchdowns against the Cornhuskers. This season, Altmyer has 10 touchdowns against zero interceptions. Van Pelt also said he was impressed with the work done by coach Bret Bielema. A win against the Nittany Lions this week could vault the Illini into the Top 10.

"Bielema's team — I've known Bret a long time," Van Pelt said. "There have been many versions of him. People like to take their shots. I'll admit because I know him, I've always thought, 'That's a good ball coach there.' I think he is. And that Illinois team had one of the more impressive wins of the weekend to me. ... The Illini, all of a sudden that game with Penn Statefeels like a pretty big one." 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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