2016 Football Roster
Jersey Number 12
Wes Lunt
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-5 / 225
- Position:
- QB
- Hometown:
- Rochester, Ill.
- High School:
- Rochester
2016 Redshirt Senior
- Played eight games with seven starts at quarterback
- Team captain
- 36 TDs, 12 INT in his Illinois career (28 G)
- Finished his Illini career seventh in passing yards (5,900), seventh in completions (550) and eighth in TD passes (36) in Illinois history
- Missed four games with an injury
- 127-of-232 passing for 1,376 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions on the season
- Season-high 377 yards on 28-of-54 passing at Northwestern in the season finale
- 300-yard passing performances against Western Michigan (312) and Northwestern (377)
- First interception did not come until 96th pass attempt of the season
- Selected for the East West Shrine Game
- Maxwell Award watch list (offensive player of the year)
- Davey O'Brien Award watch list (best quarterback)
- Manning Award watch list (best quarterback)
- Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list
- Phil Steele preseason All-Big Ten third team
- Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten fourth team
- Lindy's preseason "Strongest Arm in the Big Ten"
- Senior Bowl preseason watch list
- Academic All-Big Ten
2015 Redshirt Junior
- Started all 12 games at quarterback
- 270-of-481 passing for 2,761 yards, 14 touchdowns and six interceptions on the season
- Ninth on UI single-season passing yards list (2,761)
- Fourth on UI single-season completions list (270)
- Averaged 230.1 yards passing per game with an efficiency rating of 111.46
- Led the Big Ten and ranked 20th in the nation in completions per game (22.5)
- Ranked sixth in the Big Ten in passing yards (2,761)
- Threw for 250+ yards five times
- 300-yard passing performances against Western Illinois (316) and Iowa (317)
- Tied career high with four touchdown passes, all in the first half, in the season opener vs. Kent State
- Led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to beat Nebraska 14-13, including game-winning 1-yard TD to Geronimo Allison with 10 seconds left
- First career rushing touchdown vs. Northwestern
- Academic All-Big Ten
2014 Redshirt Sophomore
- Saw action in eight games, starting seven
- Was at his best in the fourth quarter, completing 36-of-48 passes (75.0 percent) for 449 yards with five touchdowns and zero interceptions to rank fourth in FBS in fourth-quarter efficiency (187.95) and third in completion percentage (75.0) (min. 30 att.)
- Led the Illini to three fourth-quarter comeback wins in 2014
- Led all Power Five QBs in 4th qtr QB rating when the game was within 7 points (20-for-25, 5 TD, 0 INT)
- Threw for a career-high 456 yards against Western Kentucky, second-most in Memorial Stadium history (J. Williams, 462, 2008) and fourth on the UI single-game passing yardage list
- Threw a career-long 62-yard TD pass to Justin Hardee against Western Kentucky
- Started his Illini debut against Youngstown State, turning in the best Illini quarterback debut in school history in terms of passing yards (285) and touchdowns (4)
- Finished 24-of-38 for 285 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions
- Academic All-Big Ten
2013 Sophomore
- Sat out season due to NCAA transfer rules
2012 Freshman (at Oklahoma State)
- Enrolled early in January 2012 and entered the fall of 2013 atop the depth chart at quarterback
- Made five starts for the Cowboys as a true-freshman, the first three games of the season and two in the middle of the season, before injuries ended both streaks
- Was the first true-freshman QB to start a season-opener at OSU since at least 1950, completing 11-of-11 passes for 123 yards in less than a quarter of play in an 84-0 win over Savannah State
- Followed with a 436-yard, four-TD performance at Arizona in his first road start
- On the season, completed 81-of-131 passes (61.8 percent) for 1,108 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions in six games
High School
- Two-time state champion, leading Rochester to Class 4A state titles in 2010 and '11
- All-state pick by the Chicago Tribune and was the 2011 Champaign News-Gazette state player of the year after throwing for 3,650 yards, 31 touchdowns and just four interceptions despite missing several games early in the season due to injury
- Set a state record with 590 passing yards and four touchdowns in the 2011 state title game at Illinois' Memorial Stadium
- Amassed more than 7,000 passing yards, had 65 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions over his last two seasons at Rochester
- Was a four-star recruit and ranked as No. 7 QB in the nation coming out of high school by Rivals
- Participated in the Semper-Fidelis All-America game
- High school coach was Derek Leonard
- Also lettered in basketball three years
- Member of the high honor roll, Spanish Club and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Personal
- Son of Andy and Jane Lunt
- Has one brother and one sister
- Brother, Wil, played quarterback at Western Illinois University from 2009-12
- Born Oct. 7, 1993
- Interested in becoming an athletic director after college
- Lists former Illinois basketball All-American Dee Brown as his Fighting Illini hero growing up
- Majoring in sport management
Career Highs
Attempts: 54 at Northwestern, 11/26/16
Completions: 35 vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14
Passing Yards: 456 vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14
Touchdown Passes: 4, twice (last vs. Kent State, 9/5/15)
Long Pass: 68 vs. Murray State, 9/3/16
Carries: 6 vs. North Carolina, 9/10/16
Rushing Yards: 5 at Nebraska, 10/1/16
Rushing Touchdowns: 1 vs. Northwestern, 11/28/15
Long Rush: 14, twice (last at Nebraska, 10/1/16)
Total Offense: 439 vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14
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