Northern Illinois quarterback Ethan Hampton signs with Illinois

Northern Illinois Huskies quarterback Ethan Hampton has signed with the Illinois Fighting Illini, On3 has learned.

Hampton had previously been committed to Wake Forest, but he decommitted after head coach Dave Clawson decided to step down. He had not yet signed with Wake Forest and was verbally committed. Since that time, he scheduled visits with Illinois and Tulane. Apparently, that Illinois visit sold him and now he’ll be moving from the MAC to the Big Ten.

Hampton spent four seasons at Northern Illinois. Now a redshirt junior, he’s appeared in 22 games and was the Huskies’ starter this past season. That included leading Northern Illinois to a win in South Bend over Notre Dame.

For his career, Hampton has completed 58 percent of his passes for 2,568 yards and 21 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. He’s also rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns. The vast majority of that production has come in the 2024 season.

Coming out of high school at Aurora Christian School in Illinois, Hampton was a three-star recruit in the Class of 2021, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. There, he was the 102nd-ranked quarterback and the 1,531st-ranked player overall in that recruiting cycle.

Now, Hampton is joining an Illinois team going into its fifth season under Bret Bielema. During the first four under Bielema, the Fighting Illini went 27-22 with two bowl appearances. The 2024 regular season was their best under him, going 9-3 and making it to the Citrus Bowl at the end of the season.

That 9-3 record was Illinois’ best since 2007 when Ron Zook took the Fighting Illini to the Rose Bowl.

As a team, Illinois was ranked 62nd in scoring offense during the 2024 season, averaging 28.9 points per game. That was with a passing offense that was 83rd in the country, averaging 214.3 yards per game through the air. That mark for passing offense was also 12th out of 18 teams in the Big Ten.

Luke Altmyer took the vast majority of the snaps for Illinois at quarterback in 2024. He finished the season with 2,543 yards and 21 touchdowns to only five interceptions. He does have a season of eligibility remaining.

The Transfer Portal opened on December 9th for one of two windows during the offseason where players can enter their name as transfers. The other window will come following Spring practice.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.