Houser impresses in first months at Illinois

May 13—CHAMPAIGN — Bret Bielema regularly pulls a half dozen to as many as 10 plays to show his team during meetings.

It was during one of those sessions this spring Bielema got a firm read on his Illinois quarterback for this coming season. The play was a combination read Katin Houser had to make once the ball was snapped, and he put the veteran quarterback on the spot.

Knowing how Houser had been coached by offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. and quarterbacks coach Art Sitkowski, Bielema said he hoped he knew what Houser's answer would be. Bielema regularly references the idea that "volume reflects confidence." The Illinois coach got that from the East Carolina transfer quarterback in that team meeting.

"After doing this a while, there's these little moments where you see things, and I think maybe just as a head coach you might be the only one that notices them," Bielema said. "He just said it really loudly and really confidently. Everybody kind of looked around."

Houser seemed to channel his inner Luke Altmyer in the moment as he seeks to replace the man who started 35 games the last three seasons as the Illini quarterback.

"Part of what Luke Altmyer's success was was because of what he was able to do, but it was really because of the way he made people feel," Bielema said. "He just made everybody feel very confident. That was a really big moment for me with Katin in that room, that environment and that setting."

Houser arrived in Champaign in January after spending two seasons at Michigan State, emerging as a part-time starter for the Spartans as a redshirt freshman in 2023, before continuing his career with two seasons at East Carolina. The Anaheim, Calif., native started all 12 games for the Pirates last fall and threw for 3,300 yards and 19 touchdowns while doubling as a scoring threat in the run game with nine more trips to the end zone.

Illinois, in need of a veteran starter with Altmyer exhausting his eligibility, brought Houser back to the Big Ten as a potential bridge to either redshirt freshman Carson Boyd or true freshman Michael Clayton II in 2027.

Houser's official visit to Illinois on Jan. 4, which was the same day he committed, also included Colorado State transfer offensive lineman Christian Martin. What the 6-foot-7 300-pound Martin learned about Houser during their coinciding visits — particularly during dinner with both families — was reinforced this spring.

"He'll do whatever it takes," said Martin, who will likely start at left tackle for Illinois this coming season. "He's going to battle, for sure. He's going to rally the guys around him. He's going to make his call. He's going to be firm, and he expects everybody to execute, which we will. That's my guy. I'm going to do whatever I have to do for him to stay clean."

Houser's growth in the way he controlled the offense as spring practices progressed stood out to Lunney the most. It wasn't exactly surprising — not with Houser's 24 career starts — but his command in the huddle and the way he communicated with his offensive teammates reinforced that experience in Lunney's eyes.