Brandon Peters transferring to Illinois continues successful offseason for Illini

Former Michigan quarterback Brandon Peters is transferring to Illinois who has been awfully busy taking in transfers this offseason.

Illinois has found their starting quarterback in the form of Brandon Peters who announced he’ll be transferring from Michigan and finish his career with the Illini. Peters, a 6’5″, 230-pound native of Avon, IN. has two years of eligibility remaining and is eligible right away as a graduate transfer.

“I want to thank the University of Michigan for the opportunity to represent the winged helmet,” Peters said on Instagram. “The memories and friendships I made along this journey will last a lifetime. I am excited to announce that I will be going to grad school and playing my last two years at the University of Illinois.”

Peters will get a chance to be the starting quarterback for the Illini after M.J. Rivers transferred in early May. Peters started four games at Michigan, but if he can beat out redshirt freshmen Coran Taylor and Matt Robinson, he could triple that total this season is he stays healthy and plays well.

Peters lost his chance to start due to an injury late in 2017 that caused him to miss the game vs. Ohio State, but returned for the Outback Bowl. With Shea Patterson transferring in last year, Peters was out of a job. Peters threw for 672 yards, four touchdowns and a pair of interceptions in 2017.

It’s been a busy and productive offseason for Lovie Smith and the Illini who have opened their doors to several other transfers. The transfer portal has seen several players flock to Champaign for their chance to play. In addition to Peters, Illinois has added transfers Trevon Sidney, Oluwole Betiku Jr. and Josh Imatorbhebe from USC as well as former Alabama offensive lineman Richie Petitbon and Georgia tight end Luke Ford. The latter is not eligible this year.

It’s been rough few years for Illinois football. The silver lining in that is there are a lot of jobs to be won and that’s one reason there’s been an influx of talent via the transfer portal. Illinois needs better players, they’ve gotten some this offseason. Now the hope is a few more wins follow this fall.