Illinois Football: 2020 vs 2007 Illini quarterback comparison

CINCINNATI - NOVEMBER 27: Juice Williams #7 of the Illinois Fighting Illini throws a pass during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium on November 27, 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI - NOVEMBER 27: Juice Williams #7 of the Illinois Fighting Illini throws a pass during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium on November 27, 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Brandon Peters #18 of the Illinois Fighting Illini warms up prior to the start of the RedBox Bowl game against the California Golden Bears at Levi’s Stadium on December 30, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Arm Accuracy

The category of arm accuracy gets a little sticky. Williams completed 53.3-percent of his passes while with the Illini, but he had three consecutive years of 57-percent as well. Accuracy was never a strength of Williams’ throughout his time with the Illini.

Williams could hit a deep ball every once in a while, but he was more of a playmaker, which made him dangerous. Just look at the upset over No. 1 Ohio State and the touchdowns that were thrown in that game. They were great plays, but the pass catchers were either wide open or they had to wait for the ball most of the time.

Peters isn’t much better as far as accuracy goes. After just one season at Illinois, Peters has completed 55.3-percent of his passes. But there is some nuance to that number. It was his first year with the program and the wide receiver corps was also pretty new to the offensive coordinator Rod Smith’s offense.

In 2020, Peters should be more accurate than he was last season. With more time to gel and roughly the same wide receiver corps, this offense should run more smoothly.

From what I have seen from both quarterbacks, I will give Peters a slight victory here. I believe he will bump his completion percentage up in 2020.

Peters > Williams