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INDIANAPOLIS — Rearing and ready to go.
When former Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer met with the media at the NFL Combine, he was teeming with anticipation, just waiting to get to Saturday morning’s drills.
“I’m ready to go cut it loose, man,” Altmyer said. “I’m confident, I’m prepared and I’m ready to go do it.”
And cut it loose he did.
Altmyer finished with a 4.72-second 40-yard dash, a 32” vertical jump and 9’6” broad jump, while also showing off his arm strength and accuracy in the various passing drills.
At the podium earlier in the week, he exuded confidence when talking about what brought him to this moment.
“To be here, I worked really hard for it, I’ve earned it and I’m ready to go do my best, like that’s what I do,” Altmyer said.
While the NFL Combine is a place for prospective pros to try and prove something to scouts, coaches and general managers, he isn’t going to be one of them.
“I’m not looking to prove anything, I’m just here to be myself, and that’s enough,” Altmyer said.
The Starkville, Mississippi-native was committed to the University of Mississippi out of high school as a highly-touted four-star recruit.
However, things didn’t go quite as planned out of the gates.
As a freshman, Altmyer backed up former third-round pick Matt Corral and got a few reps in. The following season, current New York Giants QB1 Jaxson Dart transferred into Ole Miss and beat him out for the starting job.
After transferring away from his hometown school, he became a three-year starter at Illinois, winning 19 games and developing in a way that he never saw coming.
“I became a man at Illinois, developed and grew under Coach Bielema, unlike anything I ever imagined,” Altmyer said.
Altmyer has been an instrumental figure in turning around the football program at Illinois, helping lead them to back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time in program history.
He transformed the offense using both his arms and his legs, throwing for 7,607 yards and 57 touchdowns and rushing for 741 yards and 12 touchdowns during his time in the Orange and Blue.
That arm talent, along with his mobility, both found their ways into the QB’s list of traits that he thinks will help him at the next level.
“My creativity, my mobility, it shows up all over the tape,” Altmyer said. “My toughness, my competitive spirit, my desire to win, I think I can make all the throws.”
Currently, Altmyer is projected to be a late-round draft pick or a high-priority undrafted free agent.
He shared an anecdote with the media about how Phillip Rivers, a future Hall of Fame QB, helped emphasize how important a QB room is to a starter’s success.
“He talked a little bit about how valuable his room was to him, his quarterback room, and the way they helped him prepare and get him ready and to do the right things,” Altmyer said. “They had a job to do, and they did it well, and how valuable those people were, it’s a big deal.”
Going from a starter to a reserve player isn’t the easiest adjustment, but it’s one that Altmyer will likely have to get used to early in his career.
But no matter what role Altmyer is tasked with once he ends up signing with an NFL team, he made it clear that he’s ready to do whatever is asked of him.
“Whether I’m mopping floors, cooking food or I’m a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, my job is to be the best I can be, use the gifts I’ve been given to the highest capacity,” Altmyer said.
The QB said that he’s been watching the NFL Combine since he was a kid, keeping a keen eye on the quarterbacks that came before him.
No matter how things end up unfolding for Altmyer over the next couple of months, he was always going to come into this weekend with a concrete mindset that he’s not taking anything for granted.
“I grew up watching it on TV, seeing all the quarterbacks run and throw, so I’m making the most of it, not taking a moment for granted and doing the right things to set myself up well for the NFL,” Altmyer said.