Illinois is stepping into a new quarterback chapter, and Barry Lunney Jr. likes what he’s seen so far from the man expected to run it.
For the first time in four years, the Illini will open a season with someone other than Luke Altmyer as the starter under center. With Altmyer out of eligibility and headed to the NFL, the job now belongs to East Carolina transfer Katin Houser, and Illinois’ offensive coordinator said Tuesday that Houser has already checked a lot of important boxes.
“Well, he just proved to me that he knows how to play and he presents plays, practices like a guy that’s played football - and a lot of it,” Lunney said.
He didn’t stop there. Lunney praised Houser’s grasp of the position, his sense of responsibility, and the way he carries himself with teammates.
“That’s what I learned about him. And that’s nothing really profound, but it’s good to see and good to know, because I think we got a guy in here that understands his role.
He understands his responsibility of being the quarterback at University of Illinois. He takes that very seriously.
He’s very driven. He relates to his teammates well.
He’s got an incredible mind and incredible work ethic, and he’s tough. There’s a lot of great qualities.
“There’s no perfect player. There’s no such thing as a perfect player.
And so does he have things that we’re working on and trying to improve? Absolutely.
And he attacks those on a daily basis. [Quarterbacks coach] Art [Sitkowski] has done a phenomenal job with him, and with the help of [passing game coordinator] Mike Neu.
“He’s the leader of our team, and I think our guys see that and it came about real organically for him. And I think that’s only going to strengthen when he gets to game time and he goes out and plays well, and so I’m excited to see that."
Houser’s résumé helps explain why Illinois is comfortable handing him the keys. He has four seasons of college football behind him, with 34 career games, 6,438 passing yards and 43 touchdowns. He’s not walking into the job blind.
The physical tools are there too. Houser can work the back-shoulder throw, squeeze passes into tight windows between linebackers and safeties, and launch the deep ball 50 yards while putting a receiver in stride. He can throw on the move, and he can also tuck it and use his 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame to finish in the red zone.
The biggest question now is how fast he becomes fully comfortable in Illinois’ system. Based on what Lunney is seeing, the answer may come quickly. Houser’s football IQ, work ethic and overall command suggest the transition could happen sooner rather than later.
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