Even though the status of redshirt junior quarterback Brandon Peters is unknown, Saturday’s game between the No. 16 Michigan Wolverines (4-1) and Illinois Fighting Illini (2-3) sets up an interesting hypothetical.

Beginning his collegiate career at Michigan, Peters announced his intention to enroll at Illinois in June. As a graduate transfer, he was immediately eligible.

Completing 74-127 passes for 797 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions, the beginning of Peters’ tenure in Champaign has had both high and low moments.

While slightly better than his former teammate’s, senior Shea Patterson’s numbers running the point at Michigan leave a lot to be desired. Briefly benched during the Wolverines’ loss to No. 8 Wisconsin on September 21, Patterson has connected on 81-139 attempts for 1,052 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.

The fifth different quarterback to start a game for Michigan since Jim Harbaugh became head coach in the 2015 season, the overlap between Patterson and Peters led to a dive into each of Harbaugh’s five signal-callers in Ann Arbor.

Jake Rudock, 2015

Beginning his career at the University of Iowa, Rudock holds the unique distinction of having played for two B1G programs.

Appearing in 25 games for the Hawkeyes over the 2013-14 seasons, he completed 60.3-percent of his passes, throwing 34 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in the process.

Like Peters, Rudock was immediately eligible in 2015 as a graduate transfer. Starting all 13 games for the 10-3 Wolverines, his brightest moment came on November 14 in Bloomington, Indiana vs. the Hoosiers. Throwing for 440 yards and six touchdowns, Rudock and the Wolverines improved to 8-2 with the win.

Staying in the state of Michigan, Rudock was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Spending parts of three seasons with the organization, he is now a member of the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad.

Wilton Speight, 2016-17

A Brady Hoke recruit, Speight was a three-star prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite, out of Richmond, Virginia in 2014.

Redshirting in his first year on-campus, he saw his first action as Rudock’s backup in 2015. Taking over the reins the following year, Speight started 12 of the 13 games for the 10-3 Wolverines in 2016 – the lone exception being the 20-10 victory over Indiana on November 19.

While his 18-7 touchdown-interception rate wasn’t terrible, Speight was unfortunately responsible for two critical turnovers in the overtime loss to No. 6 Ohio State on November 26.

Entering the 2017 season as the presumptive starter, he again won the job in fall camp. Suffering a back injury in the fourth game of the season, a 28-10 victory over Purdue in West Lafayette, Speight’s 2017 campaign would be cut short, allowing John O’Korn and Peters to see extended playing time.

Graduate transferring to UCLA for the 2018 season, Speight played in seven games for Chip Kelly, tossing six touchdowns and six interceptions.

Undrafted in 2019, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers but was waived on August 31.

John O’Korn, 2016-17

Born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, O’Korn moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida prior to his junior year of high school.

Despite receiving offers from Power Five programs such as Louisville, Mississippi State and Wisconsin, he chose to attend the University of Houston.

Initially, this looked to be a very good decision as O’Korn was named American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year for Tony Levine’s Cougars, throwing for 3,117 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Struggling to adjust to a new offensive scheme following the loss of offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Doug Meacham, O’Korn fell out of favor with the coaching staff during the 2014 season.

Announcing his intention to enroll at Michigan on February 5, 2015, he sat out the 2015 season in compliance with NCAA transfer rules.

Serving as Speight’s backup in 2016, O’Korn made his first start for the Wolverines on November 19, a snowy 20-10 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers. He would also step in for Speight in 2017 when he was forced to leave the Purdue game.

Unfortunately for O’Korn, he is also known for throwing a brutal interception vs. Ohio State in 2017 at Michigan Stadium. Down 24-21 with less than three minutes left at the time, the eventual 8-5 Wolverines had an outside chance at pulling off the upset.

Ending his Michigan career with 1,146 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions, he went undrafted in 2018. While offered tryouts by the Lions, Dolphins and New York Giants, he has yet to sign with an NFL team.

Brandon Peters, 2017

The 2015 recipient of Indiana’s Mr. Football Award, Peters was one of the top-10 pro-style quarterbacks in the 2016 class.

Also holding offers from Arkansas, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin and seven others, Peters’ relationship with quarterbacks coach/wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator Jedd Fisch sealed the deal.

Not appearing in a game during the 2016 season, Peters made his collegiate debut vs. Rutgers on October 28, 2017. His final start in a Michigan uniform would be the Outback Bowl loss to South Carolina on January 1, 2018.

Completing just 20-44 passes in the battle with the Gamecocks, Peters left Ann Arbor with 680 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions to his credit.

Leaving the loss to Minnesota on October 5 with an upper body injury, Peters will have the unique opportunity to face many of his old teammates if he can suit up for the Illini on Saturday.

Shea Patterson, 2018-19

A wild career to follow, Patterson’s career has featured plenty of twists and turns.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Patterson attended Hidalgo Early College High School in Hidalgo, Texas for his freshman year. Verbally committing to the Arizona Wildcats as a 15-year-old, he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana for his sophomore and junior years.

Decommitting from Arizona prior to his junior year, Patterson would commit to Ole Miss eight months later and moved once more, to Florida, before his senior year.

Beginning his freshman year in Oxford as Chad Kelly’s backup, Patterson was thrust into the starting role following Kelly’s leg injury late in the season. Appearing in three games for the 2016 Rebels, Patterson threw for 880 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.

Suffering an injury of his own in 2017, Patterson had thrown for an SEC-leading 2,259 yards prior to being sidelined. In the aftermath of the NCAA sanctions levied against Ole Miss and head coach Hugh Freeze’s resignation, Patterson hired attorney Thomas Mars and was granted immediate eligibility at Michigan.

Starting every game for the 2018 Wolverines (10-3), Patterson threw for 2,600 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Expected to take off in new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis’ “Speed in Space” offense, Patterson’s results have been underwhelming thus far.