Illinois head coach Bret Bielema announced that senior quarterback Brandon Peters will return as the starting quarterback on Friday night after leaving the season-opening win. The veteran quarterback proved his worth last season after throwing for just over 400 yards and three touchdowns in five games, but the bulk of his production came in the 25-point comeback over Michigan State in what turned out to be the biggest comeback in program history. All three touchdowns came in the comeback win over the Spartans after throwing for a career-high 368 yards, while Peters flashed his dual-threat ability with just shy of six yards per carry last season.
But with just over one quarter of game film on Peters’ 2021 season, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley pointed to what the Illini quarterback showed on tape last fall as to how Maryland’s defense is preparing for Friday night’s bout. “I'm very familiar with him from the recruiting process when he started at Michigan played for a good friend of mine Pep Hamilton. A guy that has a strong arm, a classic drop-back passer that throws the ball accurately and you know for them to get him back for our game is definitely a concern because I thought the other kid [Artur] Sitkowski has also been playing decently well for them, not turning it over so they’ve got two good quarterbacks and they’ll be a challenge for us,” Locksley said during Tuesday’s press conference. “You know obviously when you got a guy like him who can throw the ball and make all the throws, it'll be a great challenge to our defensive backs this week and I know they're looking forward to the opportunity to compete.”
Starting linebacker Ruben Hyppolite also tabbed Peters as “poised” with him back at the helm, but the defense knows it’ll be up to themselves to determine their success on Friday night. “We’re just focused on what we have to do and we’re looking forward to playing our brand of football. We’re not worried about anyone else on the other team, whatever they did is what they did but whatever we do is up to us.”
The Illini also present ample experience on the roster with 21 ‘super seniors’ on the roster, the most of any Power Five school in the country. Illinois also returns 82% and 86% of its production on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, including 131 combined career FBS starts along the offensive line. Illinois returns three starters along the offensive line in seniors Doug Kramer, Vederian Lowe, and Alex Palczewski to become the only team in the country with three offensive linemen with at least 35 career starts. The strong presence upfront hasn’t translated to consistent success in the run game as Illinois holds the fourth-worst rushing attack in the Big Ten, but junior tailback Mike Epstein sits fifth in the Big Ten in yards per carry (5.9) through his career while Jakari Norwood, former teammate of Maryland receiver DeaJaun McDougle and the cousin of Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson, is another factor out of the backfield. But sophomore Chase Brown, whose safety Sydney Brown is a safety for the Illini, enters Friday as the third Illini running back who has started one game this season as the Terps’ defense will be on their toes.
“Outside of their quarterbacks, they have good running backs, good tight ends, good receivers. They have good personnel all around the offense so like I said before, it’s going to be a good game for us,” Hyppolite added. The former four-star prospect has elevated his profile heading into the 2021 season as he’s appeared in six of his seven career games thus far, totaling 24 tackles and a pair of sacks in his career as he’s locked down the MIKE spot. While the depth chart indicates an “OR” between Branden Jennings and Gereme Spraggins, Jennings has taken the reigns head on at the WILL and Hyppolite sees the physicality in his game.
“His style of play is very high, very physical at the point of attack which I try to take a piece of his game and incorporate it into mine and we just feed off of it like that so definitely his physicality.”
Jennings isn’t the only first-year linebacker standing out through the first two games as outside linebacker Demeioun ‘Chop’ Robinson found himself listed as the backup SAM linebacker ahead of Friday’s game, and while Locksley added Robinson will “play some SAM and also play some JACK,” the Terps’ front seven exudes athleticism thanks to the “silent assassin” on the edge.
“Very good player. Quiet, silent assassin. He doesn’t talk a lot, but he gets the job done when it needs to be done. Have a lot of respect for him, he’s going to be a big player for us in the coming games, in the coming future for us.”
Kickoff for Friday night’s game is set for 9 PM EST on FS1.