Illinois Fighting Illini officially name Wes Lunt starting quarterback
When Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt announced his intention to transfer from the Cowboys program in 2012, many thought his ultimate destination would be back home in the state of Illinois. Lunt did end up choosing the University of Illinois as his new school, and now the football team is choosing Lunt.
On Wednesday, head coach Tim Beckman named the redshirt sophomore his starting quarterback.
Coach Beckman has officially named Wes Lunt starting QB for #Illini season-opener on 8/30. pic.twitter.com/6W5uRX5ECW
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) August 20, 2014
It was perhaps the worst-kept secret in the Big Ten, but Lunt was officially battling with sophomore Aaron Bailey and senior Riley O’Toole.
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Lunt came out of high school pretty highly rated, ranking as the No. 16 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2012 out of Rochester (Rochester High School), Ill.
Lunt started during his freshman season at Oklahoma State, and finished the season completing 61.8 percent of his passes for 1,108 yards and six touchdowns to seven interceptions. However, Lunt was not going to be in the future plans for head coach Mike Gundy and he decided to transfer and be able to compete for playing time.
As spring and fall camps wore on for Illinois it became more apparent that he was ahead of the rest of the quarterbacks in camp.
Illinois defensive coordinator Tim Banks also had high praise for Lunt and his abilities after dealing with him on the other side of the ball.
“I tell you, he can sling it,” Banks said, via herald-review.com. “He can make every throw. He can make the throw from the far hash to the other (sideline) and you just don’t see that.
“I’ve been around a couple NFL quarterbacks and as far as arm strength, he’s right up there with them. He can make all the throws.”