Bret Bielema has made his choice at quarterback for Illinois going into the regular season opener against Toledo.

Redshirt sophomore Luke Altmyer is getting the nod. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback is a transfer from Ole Miss. The former 4-star prospect quickly emerged in the offseason as the most viable option for the starting spot.

Other options being considered were Ball State transfer John Paddock and redshirt freshman Donovan Leary.

Bielema praised Altmyer for his seamless transition into the program and ability to take the reigns as a leader.

“I’ve been very impressed by not just Luke’s play on the football field, but how he’s handled things,” Bielema said. “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.”

During his time at Ole Miss, Altmyer amassed 317 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. 247Sports rated Altmyer as the No. 10 transfer quarterback going into this season.

This is the first meeting between Illinois and Toledo. The home contest for the Fighting Illini is on Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on BTN.