What Illinois' offensive coordinator and quarterback said about South Carolina's defense and more

Luke Altmyer, the starting quarterback for Illinois, and offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. spoke to the media ahead of the Citrus Bowl. The two addressed the challenges presented by the strength of South Carolina’s defense and more.

Below is a brief summary of what they had to say.

— Lunney: The defense is super well coached which is expected for a 9-3 SEC team in the Citrus Bowl. They play really aggressively, know how to tackle and play within their scheme confidently. South Carolina is playing as well as anyone in the country the last six weeks and it starts with the defense.

— Altmyer: He has experience playing in the SEC and knows how hard it is to do as well as South Carolina has thus far. The defense is fast, physical, confident and they fly around tackling well. They will be a challenge for Illinois offense but he’s excited for the challenge.

— Altmyer: Wanted to make the decision sooner as opposed to later on coming back. He wanted to get his feet firm before the bowl game. It was an easy decision for him because of the love he has for his coaches and teammates.

— Altmyer on his growth on the field: “It’s been really a complete 180. I think me mentally, coming off of last season, I knew there had to be some sort of change to kind of get to where I want to go. You know, I had struggles, obviously, physically with my play. But I think those physical struggles were really a mental, kind of spiritual, emotional thing. I knew I had to do work there to really take a step. And I did with coaches like this, Coach Lunney and outside sources: pastors, psychologists, to really help grow my tools off of the field. And I think that’s been the whole change.

“I think at the end of the day, my talents are my talents. The player that you see on the field today was really the player that you saw last year. It’s just the confidence and the mental — the strength that I have, spiritually and emotionally, and mentally, has really gone to a place where I didn’t think you could go. And that’s just thanks to the people around me, it’s really why I want to be here. I’m surrounded by so many great people and people who know Christ and people who know me, and I really understand who I am as a person. I know I can just keep on taking it to new levels and new heights. So just had so much fun with it this year and excited to keep moving.”

— Lunney: Luke has a lot of physical talent which they say especially in his first year with the Fighting Illini. Its beenun to watch him change over the year and get more comfortable and grow, couldn’t agree more with what Luke said.

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— Lunney on transfers: Excited to continue to add transfers. Really excited to grow the offense and add new players there. They hope to add a lot of competition as well with players like Justin Bowick who has a big frame. Also Ethan Hampton is a big competitor with young talent ready to learn and will add stability to the quarterback room.

— Lunney on Justin Stepp and if he has spoken on wanting to win this game more than others: “Not really. I mean, obviously he’s familiar with the coaches, and got a ratio respect for Coach Beamer and the guys on the staff. And I know he’s dear friends with Coach White and and several guys on the staff, I just know that.

“And I’ve got a history Justin myself. I worked with him in Arkansas and obviously, we were thrilled to be able to get him last year in the off season, and he’s really done a great job helping our room, helping our offense, helping the receivers grow. And we’re thrilled to have Justin. Obviously, we’re thrilled to be in the Citrus Bowl. I think it’s a unique situation. He’s playing his former team, but I know all he wants to do is help our football team do the best they can do when it comes to game.”

— Altmyer: Stepp has been focused on getting receivers ready for the game. Playing former teams is normal in football but they aren’t letting it distract anyone. Altmyer is excited for him and his family to go out and experience that in a game.

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