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Brett Bielema is winning his first recruiting battles as head coach at Illinois. Turns out that they are all in the locker room he inherited from Lovie Smith.
After convincing three, multi-year starters on the offensive line to return for 2021, Bielema was able to do the same with a quarterback. Brandon Peters is going back to Champaign for one more season.
🔸 Biggest upset in #Illini history
🔸 Biggest comeback in #Illini history
🔸 21 passing TDs, 4 rushing TDs
🔸 Led the #Illini to 2019 Redbox BowlBack for more in 2021. pic.twitter.com/2SBAW5Nzpp
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) December 29, 2020
Peters missed three games last year due to COVID-19 protocols. And while he didn’t post huge numbers when he returned, he figures into a wide-open quarterback competition under Bielema, who was hired earlier this month to rebuild the Illini.
This past season, Peters saw limited action and was 39-of-80 for 429 yards with three touchdowns. He came into the season the consensus starter and one of the team’s captains.
And for good reason as he was building a solid resume.
In 2019, Peters took a significant step forward in his development as he went 152-of-275 for 1,884 yards with 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He spent his prior first three seasons of his collegiate career at Michigan.