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Illinois Football: 3 biggest impact players on the Illini offense

By Jalen Wilson

CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 31: Chase Brown #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini runs with the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers in the third quarter at Memorial Stadium on October 31, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. Purdue defeated Illinois 31-24. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 31: Chase Brown #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini runs with the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers in the third quarter at Memorial Stadium on October 31, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. Purdue defeated Illinois 31-24. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Illinois football
Nov 21, 2020; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback quarterback Brandon Peters throws during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Brandon Peters

Brandon Peters has been the Illinois football starting quarterback for two straight seasons after transferring from Michigan.

The first season for Peters was up and down. He threw for 1,884 yards,18 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. At times, he had impressive throws, but he also had many throws that made you question where he was throwing.

In his second season, Peters threw for 439 yards and 3 touchdowns. He played a limited amount of games due to COVID-19. So, when he was playing, he missed a lot of open receivers and had some questionable throws.

Going into his third season starting, Peters still has things he needs to improve on. Peters has struggled to pick up blitzes and pocket awareness. Multiple times in the past two seasons Peters failed to know when the opposing teams were blitzing.

Peters also took many hits because he failed to know when the pocket was collapsing, which led to him getting injured early in his first season with Illinois. He also needs to improve his throwing accuracy, as sometimes the ball is thrown too high or too low for the receiver.

This offseason, Peters seems to have improved on escaping the pocket when it is breaking down and trusting his wide receivers. I want to mention that the coaching staff has pushed Peters to become more vocal, which is vital for quarterbacks as they are usually deemed the team leader.

Due to the new offensive scheme, I believe Peters will have his best season with the Orange and Blue. I think some of Peters’ numbers will jump up because of the new offensive system. I expect him to have 2,100+ passing yards and 16 touchdowns with fewer than 6 interceptions thrown. It will be interesting to watch Peters in a new offense this season.

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