Illinois Football: Brandon Peters would be an interesting option for the Illini

Some huge news came out on Thursday regarding the Illinois football quarterback position.

It has been known that the Illini are looking for a graduate transfer quarterback to start behind center for a year or two. This would enable incoming freshman Isaiah Williams to redshirt and learn the system and speed of the college game. One of the options that has emerged over the last couple of days is from a Big Ten program.

Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports first reported that Michigan quarterback Brandon Peters is transferring and has three visits set up. He is taking a visit to Bowling Green and Miami (OH) next weekend. The other visit he has set up is to Illinois this weekend. This is massive news for the Illini who could use another quarterback option moving forward.

Coming out of Avon High School in Avon, Indiana, Peters was a highly rated recruit. He was rated as a four-star pro-style quarterback who was the No. 61 player in the class of 2016 and the No. 6 pro-style quarterback in the nation. He was also the No. 1 player in the state of Indiana.

In his first year with the Wolverines, Peters redshirted. This gave him an extra year of eligibility. He then played in six games in 2017 and started four of those contests. Last season, he only had a chance to play in five games for Michigan. He was kicked out of the starting job by incoming graduate transfer Shea Patterson.

2017 is the best measuring stick on whether Peters can play in college. He had a 52.8-percent completion rate. He also had four touchdowns and two interceptions. Those aren’t great numbers, but it was also his first year he played college football.

The cons to Peters coming aboard would be that he doesn’t fit offensive coordinator Rod Smith’s offense. Coach Smith wants to run the ball at a high clip and Peters is just not that quarterback. That is a small worry of mine.

There are a lot of pros too, though. Peters would be a quarterback that has solid experience. Illinois has some wide receivers who can make plays, so it would be nice to have a good, accurate, arm. I would also like to see Williams get some time to see how everything is run and develop his arm more.

Illinois has a chance to land Peters. He would be able to play two seasons with the Orange and Blue. This would be an exciting addition to the program.