Starkville football quarterback Trey Petty on his Luke Altmyer connection as Illinois commit
There is a long list of words used to describe Starkville football quarterback and Illinois commit Trey Petty. Indecisive is not one of them.
His confidence was put on display last fall in a 49-13 victory over Murrah when Petty completed 21 of 30 passes and threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Petty's performance sparked an eight-game win streak for Starkville, transforming the Yellow Jackets season to its seventh MHSAA 6A state championship.
"I think the biggest key was me getting back healthy after missing a game because of an ankle injury that had been nagging me during our losses to West Point and Clinton," Petty said. "I learned that I can't let injuries affect my attitude and because of that, I became a much better leader. I had to step up in that time period as a leader of the team because it was the most important stretch of our season."
Petty is No. 11 in the Clarion Ledger's 2023 Dandy Dozen, a collection of the 12 best college football recruits in Mississippi for the class of 2024 as picked by the newspaper.
Petty is a three-star recruit and No. 21 prospect in Mississippi, according to the 247Sports Composite. He's the No. 48 quarterback in the country.
In his junior year at Starkville, Petty recorded over 3,500 total yards and 47 total touchdowns through the air and on the ground.
The 6-foot 1, 190-pound Petty is a dual threat at quarterback who tries to emulate Broncos star quarterback Russell Wilson, who also played for Illinois coach Bret Bielema while at Wisconsin.
Petty committed to play for Bielema at Illinois in May after going on a visit to Champaign a week prior.
"I love Coach Bielema and (offensive coordinator) Coach (Barry) Lunney," Petty said. "Also my former teammate at Starkville Luke Altmyer goes there too now so that makes the transition even easier. But I chose Illinois mainly because it felt like home on my first visit. They kept on preaching about how big they were on the program being like a family and I really felt that while I was there with them."
His top six also included Tulane, West Virginia, Indiana, Georgia Tech and San Diego State.
Petty found a groove in his sophomore season after winning the starting job. The Yellow Jackets won 11 games in his first year under center and came out on top of four of those games despite trailing heading into the final quarter.
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"He's a really bright kid ... which you can see in his sharp decision making down the stretch of games and that's needed at quarterback," said Starkville coach Chris Jones. "He's one of the 12 best players in the state for a reason. It's been a true honor being able to coach him."
Jordan Davis is a sports writing intern for the Mississippi Clarion Ledger. Contact him at jcdavis@gannett.com or on X, formerly knows as Twitter @JDavis34_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Starkville football: Trey Petty on Luke Altmyer connection at Illinois
