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Illinois coach Bret Bielema revealed that Tennessee football offered Luke Altmyer more than $2.5 million dollars than the Illini last offseason to transfer before their star quarterback decided to stay.
During an interview on the Barstool Sports podcast "Pardon My Take" on June 12, Bielema was asked about the difficulties of holding onto players with other teams enticing them to transfer. His response mentioned Altmyer's offer to play for the Vols.
"Luke was offered almost two-and-a-half more million dollars than we were paying him to leave us," Bielema said. "And then we end up playing that team in a bowl game and beating them."
Illinois defeated Tennessee in last year's Music City Bowl, 30-28. It was Altmyer's final college game before he signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in April.
Altmyer, who started his career at Ole Miss before transferring to Illinois before the 2023 season, was a top target for UT last offseason as it searched for a starting quarterback. It was widely reported that Altmyer was offered a lucrative NIL deal to join the Vols and replace the since-departed Nico Iamaleava. Altmyer acknowledged the rumors in an interview with On3.
"There were opportunities for me to venture onward to the next level, but also to be able to play in another program,” Altmyer said. “That’s just the reality of it, and the NCAA and the college football world that we live in. Being from Mississippi and in SEC country, that’s very, very attractive to be able to play in that conference, play in front of people that I know, and in stadiums that I’ve been in before and grew up watching and loving. It was certainly an attraction and a real thing."
But Altmyer stayed at Illinois, and Tennessee landed on Joey Aguilar as its starting quarterback. Aguilar ended up leading the SEC with 3,565 passing yards in 2025, the third most in a single season in Tennessee history.
The Vols will start another new quarterback this season with Aguilar gone. They were again connected to a handful of transfers but didn't land any of the top options on the market, setting up a battle for the starting spot between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub.
Coach Josh Heupel hasn't revealed who will be the starting quarterback.
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football offer to Luke Altmyer revealed by Illinois' Bret Bielema
Continue reading...
During an interview on the Barstool Sports podcast "Pardon My Take" on June 12, Bielema was asked about the difficulties of holding onto players with other teams enticing them to transfer. His response mentioned Altmyer's offer to play for the Vols.
"Luke was offered almost two-and-a-half more million dollars than we were paying him to leave us," Bielema said. "And then we end up playing that team in a bowl game and beating them."
Illinois defeated Tennessee in last year's Music City Bowl, 30-28. It was Altmyer's final college game before he signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in April.
Altmyer, who started his career at Ole Miss before transferring to Illinois before the 2023 season, was a top target for UT last offseason as it searched for a starting quarterback. It was widely reported that Altmyer was offered a lucrative NIL deal to join the Vols and replace the since-departed Nico Iamaleava. Altmyer acknowledged the rumors in an interview with On3.
"There were opportunities for me to venture onward to the next level, but also to be able to play in another program,” Altmyer said. “That’s just the reality of it, and the NCAA and the college football world that we live in. Being from Mississippi and in SEC country, that’s very, very attractive to be able to play in that conference, play in front of people that I know, and in stadiums that I’ve been in before and grew up watching and loving. It was certainly an attraction and a real thing."
But Altmyer stayed at Illinois, and Tennessee landed on Joey Aguilar as its starting quarterback. Aguilar ended up leading the SEC with 3,565 passing yards in 2025, the third most in a single season in Tennessee history.
The Vols will start another new quarterback this season with Aguilar gone. They were again connected to a handful of transfers but didn't land any of the top options on the market, setting up a battle for the starting spot between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub.
Coach Josh Heupel hasn't revealed who will be the starting quarterback.
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football offer to Luke Altmyer revealed by Illinois' Bret Bielema
Continue reading...
