Brandon Peters, Illinois Football News: Draft Scout Player News

07/14/20 - QB Brandon Peters, rSr/2022, Illinois

Peters quickly squashed the notion of a quarterback competition in last August's training camp, his first at Illinois after transferring from Michigan. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound native of Avon, Ind., asserted himself into the No. 1 spot and held onto that title for the remainder of the season. Peters missed two games last fall because of a concussion, but he still had the most productive and efficient season by an Illinois quarterback since Wes Lunt in 2015. Peters completed 152 of 275 passes for 1,884 yards, 18 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. Pigeon-holing Peters as a pocket passer, though, isn't quite right. His rushing totals weren't outlandish - 74 carries for 213 yards and three touchdowns - but the one-time Division I basketball recruit managed to break a few big runs when they mattered most.

As Illinois offensive coordinator Rod Smith would say, Peters is "not an oak tree back there." The Illini quarterback has shown that off even more since the team's voluntary workouts with Hernandez and his staff resumed. "Watching him run, he looks absolutely incredible," Hernandez said. "He's got his big, long stride, and he's taking people down with it, winning some races. There's some competitiveness. He has definitely put some work in to help showcase some of his athleticism. "He's definitely standing out right now as a guy who continued to lift, continued to run and continued to work on his overall performance. I think that right there shows a lot to this football team, how important it is to our quarterback to get it done. Hopefully it's going to continue to spread throughout the remainder of our guys as well." - News Gazette Tribune

rSr/2022