This afternoon, Lovie Smith announced that Brandon Peters, a graduate transfer from Michigan, will be the Illini starting quarterback when they host the Akron Zips on August 31st.
Peters was a four-star recruit out of high school but never got an extended look under center after his redshirt freshman season at Michigan. He threw for four touchdowns and 680 yards in eight games over two seasons for the Wolverines.
| Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| *2017 | Michigan | Big Ten | SO | QB | 6 | 57 | 108 | 52.8 | 672 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 113.6 |
| *2018 | Michigan | Big Ten | JR | QB | 2 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 8 | 4.0 | -18.5 | 0 | 1 | -16.4 |
| 2019 | Illinois | Big Ten | JR | QB | ||||||||||
| Career | Overall | 58 | 110 | 52.7 | 680 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 4 | 3 | 111.2 | ||||
With the decision to start Peters, Lovie Smith has elected to go the graduate transfer route at QB1 once again this season, just as he did last year by starting Virginia Tech transfer AJ Bush over M.J. Rivers II. Peters will be starting over talented freshman Isaiah Williams this season.
Though Peters gets the nod from the get-go, Williams should still see the field this season, as Peters is more of a pro-style quarterback and Williams has the athletic ability to make plays with both his arm and his feet.
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[…] all those setbacks, the show had to go on. Brandon Peters, a graduate transfer from Michigan, was named the starting quarterback, and the stage was set for Illinois football in 2019. A weak Akron team came to Champaign to open […]