Why Illinois can make a living off of transfer quarterbacks

AJ Bush, Brandon Peters, Artur Sitkowski, Tommy DeVito, and now Luke Altmyer. Since 2018 transfer quarterbacks have been the way to go for the Illini.

It has produced mixed results in the past, but can it be a way to sustain success?

The successes of transfer QBs

Bret Bielema

Scott Tolkien (Developed) 2010

• Team success: 11-2, Rose Bowl (L), End AP rank 7, 539 points scored
• Player success: 72.9% comp, 2459 yards, 16-6 TD-INT, 165.9 rate

Russell Wilson (Transfer) 2011

• Team success: 11-3, Rose Bowl (L), End AP rank 10, 618 points scored
• Player success: 72.8% comp, 3175 yards, 33-4 TD-INT 191.8 rate

In terms of team success between the years that Bielema handed the reins to a Wisconsin developed player vs. a transfer QB, it was very similar. The only major difference is in points scored, where the team led by Wilson scored 79 more points than the team scored the year prior. That is a lot of points.

Player…