ANN ARBOR — When Brandon Peters graduate transferred from Michigan to Illinois this past offseason, this week’s matchup between the two schools was circled on his calendar, according to Illinois coach Lovie Smith.
Whether the quarterback will get to face off against his former team, however, remains unclear. Peters has started all five games for the Fighting Illini this season, but left in the first half of last Saturday’s loss to Minnesota after taking a hard hit. The team hasn’t officially updated his status heading into the Michigan game.
"Of course I'm not going to talk about injuries until the game gets here," Smith said in his weekly news conference Monday. “It’s Michigan week now, so I know he’s pumped up. I’m hoping he’ll be ready to go this week.”
Peters was the first quarterback Jim Harbaugh recruited as Michigan’s head coach and was a four-star recruit in high school. In 2017, he made six appearances and four starts as a redshirt freshman, including in Michigan’s loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.
But that offseason, Shea Patterson transferred from Mississippi, won immediate eligibility, and earned Michigan’s starting job.
Peters became a backup, and after graduating last spring, he opted to enter the transfer portal.
“Really like Brandon a lot,” Harbaugh said this week. “He won us ball games. Good person, good player. Been following him, and I would say the same for how he's been playing there at Illinois. Good guy, good player.”
Jon Runyan, Jr., and Jordan Glasgow each lived with Peters while he was at Michigan. While both acknowledged Peters can be quiet, Runyan said he became aware of Peters’ desire to transfer last December.
“He was still fully invested in the team,” Runyan said. “He eventually did what's best for him, and I'm happy for him. He's a great, great guy and a great friend, and I wish him nothing but the best.”
This season at Illinois, Peters has thrown 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has completed 74 of his 127 passing attempts and has thrown for 797 yards. In 2017 as a redshirt freshman at Michigan, Peters threw for 672 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions.
If Peters plays Saturday, Glasgow said he’s looking forward to getting a chance to tackle his former teammate.
“It's going to be cool,” he said. “I'm excited to hit a quarterback that was on my team actually. He was a good friend of mine while he was here. It's going to be fun to play against him. Hopefully we put him on the ground a lot, hopefully nothing happens, but I want to make his day as rough as possible.”
If Peters doesn’t wind up playing Saturday, redshirt freshman Matt Robinson likely will start in his place, as freshman quarterback Isaiah Williams also has been battling an injury.
Smith did not offer specifics on Williams’ injury this week, either.
Robinson was 15 of 29 passing and threw for 125 yards in the Fighting Illini’s 40-17 loss against Minnesota, but the only touchdowns Illinois scored in the game came courtesy of the defense. Robinson can run more than Peters, but Illinois struggled to set that up against Minnesota.
“We could have helped Matt with some of the passes we dropped,” Smith said. “When you're in a situation like that, you need to be able to rally around a running game. We weren't able to establish that."
Smith was asked whether he will use Peters’ knowledge of his former team during preparations for the game.
"I think you use every advantage that you can possibly get," Smith said. "But video also says that. You're not going to know what a team is going to do until the ball is snapped. Brandon can't help with that. He won't be able to help much. Brandon, most of his time is put into remembering all he knows about their defense."
First Published October 11, 2019, 2:50 p.m.
