CHAMPAIGN — Many of us are looking a bit shaggy these days. Haircuts have been few and far between.
So, don’t be surprised if you see Brandon Peters in town looking like he just escaped from the 1970s. Picture the late, great Mac Davis from “North Dallas Forty.”
Peters enters his second season as starting quarterback in Rod Smith’s Illinois offense.
So, what’s with the hair?
“I haven’t cut it since January,” Peters said Wednesday morning in a Zoom call with media, his first time talking to reporters since the Illini’s loss in the Redbox Bowl in late December. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with it, honestly. Right now, I’m not even worried about it.”
No matter what look he’s sporting these days, Peters will again be looking early and often to Illinois’ best receiver, Josh Imatorbhebhe. The former Southern Cal player led the team in catches and clutch plays in 2019.
Fitting that two Power Five transfers developed on-field chemistry. Imatorbhebhe’s size (6 feet, 2 inches and 220 pounds) and athleticism (47-inch vertical jump) helped.
“It makes it easier to throw the ball at a higher plane,” Peters said. “When you’ve got a big body, you can kind of use their size as leverage. You saw it a couple of times last year with Josh that I was just giving him a chance to go make a play on the ball, and that’s what he did.”
New, improved
The hair isn’t the only thing different for Peters in 2020. He has reshaped his body, adding size and muscle.
In 2019, the 6-foot-5 Peters played at 212 pounds.
“I was pretty skinny,” Peters said. “That’s not great when you’re playing in the Big Ten, (and) you’re taking those hits.”
Being limited by COVID-19 gave Peters a chance to seek out guidance to better prepare his body for the season.
He worked out in Detroit with a popular trainer. Peters wanted to improve his strength, mobility and speed.
“We really hit it all,” Peters said.
His ultimate goal is to weigh 230 pounds. Not the kind of 230 created by guzzling pop and scarfing pizza.
“You’ve just got to eat the right stuff,” Peters said. “I was actually cooking a lot of my own food. That was the easier way to do it rather than trying to get stuff from takeout.”
Peters has also added knowledge. During the offseason, the 22-year-old — who celebrates his 23rd birthday next Thursday — spent a weekend in Arizona, working out with Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.
“He was just giving me tips, pointers, things to work on for footwork, accuracy and the mental part of the game,” Peters said.
They had a handful of sessions together, both watching film and on the field.
Peters seems to have learned plenty from the former Rams star, who won NFL MVP honors in 1999 and 2001.
“Whenever you have the time to sit in front of a guy who has done it at the highest level, I was taking in everything he had to say,” Peters said. “He had a lot of great knowledge for me.”
Warner is all about footwork.
“Having your back foot planted when you throw,” Peters said. “That’s one of the biggest things for me that I’ve had to work on as I’ve progressed. Hearing what he had to say about the techniques with that it’s going to be good to translate that into my game.”
Short jaunts
When he wasn’t talking to Super Bowl champs, Peters had time to relax.
Peters has been able to spend more time home in Indiana. His family lives 1 hour, 45 minutes from Champaign-Urbana, a quick drive from their home in Avon, a suburb of Indianapolis. He visited on the weekends. Thanks to the constant COVID-19 testing at Illinois, Peters knew he wasn’t infected.
“I live with my grandma, and she’s in her 80s,” Peters said. ‘She’s definitely high risk. Any time I went home, I had to be sure that I was safe for her.”
Another step
A year after riding the bench at Michigan during the 2018 season, Peters led his new Big Ten school to its first bowl appearance since 2014.
Despite the modest success, Illinois was ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten West by preseason magazines entering into the 2020 season.
“If you think about anybody outside of the program, they’re going to think of Illinois as an underdog,” Peters said. “But seeing what we have coming back this year, how comfortable we feel with everything, even with the COVID stuff going on, we’ve got some older guys on the team. We’ve got guys that have played a lot. From a players’ perspective, from a coaches’ perspective, we don’t feel we’re underdogs at all.”
The Illini will happily use the lack of recognition as motivation.
Peters knows he will be working behind a veteran offensive line, loaded with three-year starters. He’s got familiar help at receiver and running back. And more weapons across the board.
“With those guys and the senior leadership,” Peters said, “the sky’s the limit.”
Oh, yeah, and the quarterback has been around, too. Peters has earned the confidence of his veteran head coach.
“He can make every throw we ask him to,” Lovie Smith said. “He’s got a good arm. He can trick you a little bit with his speed when he’s running the football. Can’t wait to see him play this year.”
The 2020 season is supposed to be it for Peters at Illinois. That might change. At this point, because of the fractured season, players will be allowed to return in ‘21.
Peters won’t go there ... yet.
“I’m focused on this year,” Peters said. “When a decision comes, it will come.”
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