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Altmyer to start at QB; Newton a preseason All-America choice

jim rossow, the news-gazette, champaign-urbana, ill.
·3 min read

Aug. 21—Sign up for our All-Illini football newsletter here

News from a busy Monday:

— Bret Bielema said Luke Altmyer will be the starting quarterback for season opener against Toledo.

Altmyer transferred to Illinois in January after two seasons at Mississippi.

"Last spring through this fall, I've been very impressed with the quarterback room in general," Bielema said. "To have Barry (Lunney Jr.) back as a returning coordinator but also our QB coach, I think he's brought a lot of continuity to that room, even though we have new faces.

"I've been very impressed by not just Luke's play on the football field, but how he's handled things. To walk into this environment, to have a lot of people from the outside world think he's going to be that guy, to stand in front of his team and give cadence as a quarterback to speak in the huddle but also on the sideline and in the locker room, he's really done a nice job of balancing all that."

— Johnny Newton was picked as a first-team preseason All-American by the AP, a first for the program.

Bob Asmussen, a panel voter, wrote about it this morning.

The team:

FIRST TEAM

Quarterback — Caleb Williams, third-year, Southern California.

Running backs — Blake Corum, fourth-year, Michigan; Quinshon Judkins, second-year, Mississippi.

Tackles — Joe Alt, third-year, Notre Dame; Olu Fashanu, fourth-year, Penn State.

Guards — Cooper Beebe, fifth-year, Kansas State; Zak Zinter, fourth-year, Michigan.

Center — Sedrick Van Pran, fourth-year, Georgia.

Tight end — Brock Bowers, third-year, Georgia.

Wide receivers — Marvin Harrison Jr., third-year, Ohio State; Rome Odunze, fourth-year. Washington; Emeka Egbuka, third-year, Ohio State.

All-purpose player — Travis Hunter, second-year, Colorado.

Kicker — Joshua Karty, fourth-year, Stanford.

DEFENSE

Edge rushers — Jared Verse, fourth-year, Florida State; Bralen Trice, fifth-year, Washington.

Interior linemen — Jer'Zhan Newton, fifth-year, Illinois; Dontay Corleone, third-year, Cincinnati.

Linebackers — Harold Perkins, second-year, LSU; Jamon Dumas-Johnson, third-year, Georgia; Tommy Eichenberg, fourth-year, Ohio State.

Cornerbacks — Kool-aid McKinstry, third-year, Alabama; Kalen King, third-year, Penn State.

Safeties — Kam Kinchens, third-year, Miami; Malaki Starks, second-year, Georgia.

Defensive back — Cooper DeJean, third-year, Iowa.

Punter — Tory Taylor, fourth-year, Iowa.

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Drake Maye, third-year, North Carolina.

Running backs — Raheim Sanders, third-year, Arkansas; Braelon Allen, third-year, Wisconsin.

Tackles — JC Latham, third-year, Alabama; Kelvin Banks Jr., second-year, Texas.

Guards — Donovan Jackson, third-year, Ohio State; Christian Mahogany, fifth-year, Boston College.

Center — Zach Frazier, fourth-year, West Virginia.

Tight end — Oronde Gadsden, third-year, Syracuse.

Wide receivers — Xavier Worthy, third-year, Texas; Malik Nabers, third-year, LSU; Jacob Cowing, fifth-year, Arizona.

All-purpose player — Will Shipley, third-year, Clemson.

Kicker — John Hoyland, third-year, Wyoming.

DEFENSE

Edge rushers — J.T. Tuimoloau, third-year, Ohio State; Dallas Turner, third-year, Alabama.

Interior linemen — Tyler Davis, fifth-year, Clemson; Mekhi Wingo, third-year, LSU.

Linebackers — Jeremiah Trotter Jr., third-year, Clemson; Barrett Carter, third-year, Clemson; Cedric Gray, fourth-year, North Carolina.

Cornerbacks — Josh Newton, sixth-year, TCU; Ben Morrison, second-year, Notre Dame.

Safeties — Calen Bullock, third-year, Southern California; Javon Bullard, third-year, Georgia.

Defensive back — Will Johnson, second-year, Michigan.

Punter — Kai Kroeger, fourth-year, South Carolina.