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ESPN Anchor Shows Some Love For Illini QB Scott Van Pelt

Shandel Richardson|
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
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

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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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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here