Rising redshirt junior quarterback Brandon Peters intends to transfer out of Michigan and has entered the transfer portal.
Hit the jump for more.
Peters committed to Michigan in April of 2015 (LINK) as a part of the 2016 class. As you can see, I gave him a TTB Rating of 86 at the time. He was a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 pro-style quarterback, and #61 overall. He enrolled early in January of 2016 and redshirted as a freshman. He was forced into action in 2017 when Wilton Speight got injured and John O’Korn underperformed. Peters finished that year 57/108 (52.8%) for 672 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. This past year he was 1/2 for 8 yards and 1 interception in very limited action.
I’ve always liked the physical skills that Peters brings to the table, but all indications are that there’s something going on behind the scenes that did not sit well with the coaching staff. Peters’s demeanor reminds me a great deal of a former quarterback at the high school where I coach, who went on to become a D-II starter for a successful program…but eventually got passed on the depth chart. Some of those same personality traits existed, and he ended up not finishing out his college playing career.
Peters, who is from Avon, IN, and was rumored to have been homesick, seems a likely candidate to transfer closer to home. Home-state schools include Notre Dame, Purdue, Indiana, and Ball State. He probably wouldn’t see the field at Notre Dame, and most talk has centered around Purdue as a potential landing spot. Projected starter Elijah Sindelar was not super effective last year, and since Peters would be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer (provided he finishes up all his required classes this spring), that might be a good fit. Indiana could afford to upgrade at QB and is used to taking transfers, and MAC programs like Ball State are always opening their arms to Big Ten transfers.
As expected, the 2019 depth chart at quarterback now looks like Shea Patterson (Sr.), Dylan McCaffrey (RS So.), Joe Milton (RS Fr.), and Cade McNamara (Fr.).
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Weird. I commented earlier, but it never showed up
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That happened to me once, a comment about Kyler Murray.
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That happens once in a while, and I don’t know why. There are occasional posts that get sent to me for approval, usually because there are several links in the post and WordPress thinks it’s a spam comment. But other than that, I don’t see anything on the back end from those disappeared comments. I guess they’re hanging out in the ether somewhere…
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I’ve always thought he’d fit in well with Paul Chryst at Wisconsin. But Madison is even farther away than Ann Arbor.
He has to be one of the most accurate passers in all of college. And his passes just look nice. But if his home sickness is still that bad as a junior, I can’t see him making it to the pros.
I had read it was something else, and not homesickness. That it was his turnovers, not that he had turnovers per se, but how the turnovers happened. From what I have seen Jim Harbaugh is very good with QBs. If he did detect something troubling about Brandon Peters play he is probably right. But I don’t know which insider information to trust. It seems you have contact with people in the system at Michigan. So you would know things I don’t.
It seems Brandon Peters has a sharp mind. It’s strange that he hasn’t been able to come to terms with being away from his home. My first semester at college was horrible for me. But after that I did adjust. I actually looked forward to my sophomore year. But everyone is different.
I hope he can pick up at Indiana or Purdue, play great, and make it to the pros. Though with how dirty Purdue plays I can’t see him fitting into the football culture there.
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After looking it up I see Brandon Peters was never offered a scholarship by Notre Dame or Purdue. Indiana did Offer him one. But the man that recruited him it now at Texas Tech. Miami of Ohio did offer him, and is about as far away as Indiana and Purdue.
Wisconsin did offer him a scholarship. The man that recruited him, his name is Joe Rudolph, is still at Wisconsin. He’s the Associate HC/OC/OL coach.
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I will always remember Peters as a quintessential example of hope overriding logic.
Peters wasn’t a good QB. He wasn’t a good QB when he couldn’t beat out John O’Korn for a backup spot. He wasn’t a good QB when his teammates carried him to victories over Rutgers and Maryland. He wasn’t a good QB when he failed to move the ball and turned it over against Wisconsin and South Carolina. He wasn’t a good QB when he got passed by by multiple younger QBs. He isn’t a secretly good QB now while traveling South Africa. He probably won’t be be a magically unlocked good QB while being a backup at Purdue or whatever.
People keep making excuses because they see what they want to see. Excuses made in 2017 didn’t stand up to objective reasoning. Why training wheels still for a sophomore. Why 3rd string behind QBs people thought were terrible? Kooky theories about his personality now seem to be an extension of this willful delusional. Rationalizing away how dead-wrong “the Brandon Peters era” all was.
I wish Peters nothing but the best. Good for him for graduating from Michigan. I thought he could be a good player but he wasn’t. He looked the part, but looking the part doesn’t matter. He didn’t even have a good arm. Sometimes “looking the part” just means offering a vague glimmer of relief.
There is no good reason to think Peters can be a quality college QB. But some people (probably a few desperate head coaches) will talk themselves into seeing what they want to see.
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It’s interesting to contrast how different perceptions, expectations, assessments and results are for Rashan Gary, Shea Patterson, and Brandon Peters — all in the same class and born in 1997.
Funny that the only one who “didn’t produce” is the one who made all-conference multiple times and went in the first round of the NFL draft.
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I think Brandon Peters is a decent qb, not a good one but not a bad one either. He is just a qb that needs a good OL to protect him.
With regards to Rashan Gary, which Michigan career would you rather have? Chase Winovich’s career, Rashan Gary’s career or Chris Wormley’s career?
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Gary and it’s not even close. The production is, in the grand scheme of things, pretty similar. The big difference is that Gary did it in 3 years instead of 5. That means he gets a couple more years in his NFL career.
Since all these guys will (IMO) make many many millions in the NFL this is a huge difference.
Two years of NFL salary and might mean 20 million or whatever for Gary. I’d take that over the 2 years that Worm and Wino spent red-shirting, position-switching, and bench warming in a heart-beat.
But who knows, you can’t put a price on memories and maybe these guys were really happy with their Michigan experience outside of football — I hope so, because compared to the $$$ Gary will get instead it better be worth a lot.
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I’ll take Taco and Chase.
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Like I said — I wish Peters nothing but the best. I have ZERO ill will.
I don’t think it’s highly disrespectful to say that a 4th or 5th string college player isn’t that good. Same as for Ty Issac – another Michigan alum I wish nothing but the best for.
My criticism is of delusional fans with irrational expectations. I’m not criticizing the player for being who he is.
Given Peters is transferring away with no public ill will to the program or university – I’d guess he isn’t as delusional about his skills as some fans are.
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People are on here criticizing his personality, psyche, and leadership skills. If I’m Brandon Peters that would piss me off far more than somebody saying I’m not that good at football.
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Why is it irrational to expect the #1 recruit in the country, and the guy who was touted as the best Dline prospect in the last 10 years to look like it? Gary never did. He just didn’t.
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Because the #1 recruit has never been the best player in the country.
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Wow. I hope you realize that players read what’s said on the internet
I’ve read from various posters that THIS is the problem with Michigan fans, and it turns off both players & potential recruits…
Guess that only applies when we disagree with the criticism ??♂️
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This point of view is always ludicrous to me. It assumes that there are fanbases out there that don’t criticize players. If you know of one, please share it with us.
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1. Harlem Globetrotters
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True enough, I suppose! 5000 game win streaks will do that for you. But for everyone else, fanbases start ripping on players before they’re even 10 years old.
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I agree, WCB
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Gary was the only one of those who was the 100 rated #1 prospect in the country, and allegedly the best prospect at his position in a decade. He was unproductive relative to that level of hype.
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Call me crazy, but I tend to have a more favorable view of players who are highly successful at Michigan than players who are career backups. That’s going to influence my view a helluva lot more than recruiting rankings — which are interesting and all but once you’re on the roster it doesn’t matter anymore.
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If the question is, was Gary a better college player than Peters, of course he was. Find me one person who has ever said otherwise. Was Gary a bust? Was he a gigantic disappointment? Has anyone ever said so? Again, no, and no. But however you want to spin stats, injuries, “system” arguments or whatever, he was never a dominant player, and he will not be remembered as a generational talent, even at Michigan, let alone in college football as a whole.
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If you expect a kid out of high school to be a “generational talent” in college football that’s on you. It’s unreasonable to do so, based on all available historical evidence.
Could is different than would. Hopes are different than expectations.
Recruiting rankings are high variance, and Gary fell right in the middle of the expected range.
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If I were the only one who had those expectations, it would be on me, yes. But the expectation was held by a large majority of the Michigan fan base (everyone but you, apparently) that he would be a dominant player. But he didn’t quite reach that level. Fair or not, he was a minor disappointment. And no, for Gary, nobody expected much variance, except the people working with the benefit of hindsight.
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Well back in 2016 there was a debate between people who thought Gary would immediately usurp Chris Wormley (or bump him inside) and those who thought he would work best as a backup on a loaded OL.
So the difference in opinion and expectations goes back years — not just hindsight. That’s why I’m asking the question about Hill now.
I never implied you were alone in your view. If that’s how you want to cover yourself go for it. I don’t think the majority of people said Gary WILL be a generational player, they said he COULD be. That was a segment of the Michigan fan base running with the hype — apparently including you WCB.
FWIW. I find “mild disappointment” to be a lot more benign than “failed to produce”. I think Gary met reasonable expectations coming into college but it’s natural for people to be overly optimistic and call that “mildly disappointing”. Furthermore, I would add that Gary’s first 2 seasons were dead on track for the level we are talking about and that further raised the bar. So that his junior year could be called disappointing by that standard, albeit injury being an enormous factor in that disappointment.
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Well, if people are using the term “unproductive” to mean that Gary NEVER made tackles or sacks, I’ll certainly admit they’re misusing that word. If they’re using the term to actually mean that Gary UNDERproduced in those area compared to a lot of other defensive linemen playing at the same time (or even on the same team), or compared to reasonable expectations for the best Dline prospect in a decade, they’re absolutely correct.
And while an injury may explain why he wasn’t a dominant player in his last year, his production still was what it was. The fact that there was an explanation that didn’t involve his being lazy or taking too many plays off has nothing to do with whether his production was disappointing. Whatever the reason, we did not get as much out of him as expected.
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If everything is defined based on expectations it’s worth defining those pretty thoughtfully.
That means acknowledging the high variance that comes with recruiting and the wide range of potential outcomes (includes busts and backups).
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What would it take for Dax Hill to be “productive” by the time he leaves Michigan?
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@WCB – that question is for you. What are your expectations for Hill? What would make him a “productive player”? What would meeting expectations look like for Hill?
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My expectations for Hill are low. This team does not know how to use a dominant safety, even if they had one, and always limits what true freshmen are allowed to do.
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Well Jabril Peppers was a safety that was a Heisman finalist, but let’s set that aside.
The question is about Hill’s career, not his freshman year. Even Woodson and Brady were not great as freshman. That’s not what this is about – it’s about setting the bar for a highly rated recruit for his career.
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The ONLY reason Peppers was a Heisman finalist is because they trotted him out on offense for a few plays. If the invitation had been based solely on his play as safety, he would have been watching on TV with everyone else.
Unless I’m mistaken, I said “My expectations for Hill are low”. Wait…let me scroll up…
yeppers…I did say that in direct answer to your question. If it would help your argument for me to give a different answer, you’ll have to make one up.
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I’m asking for clarification. Does “Low” mean no all conference honors? A career backup?
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FWIW. My expectations for Hill are pretty high. I would like to see him start a couple seasons and make an all-conference team. Not just honorable mention.
I expect that, health allowing, he will be an immediate contributor as a freshman and go up from there. Harbaugh’s comments raise the bar, IMO.
If everything goes well I could see him being a key backup his freshman year and then 2 successful seasons as a starter (first team all conference) and then off to the NFL. Hopefully a lot of team success along the way. But I wouldn’t say I “expect” that as much as I hope for it.
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Those expectations are probably as high as for any recruit in the last decade (other than the 2 mega-recruits: Peppers and Gary).
Hill seems like the complete package and walks into a favorable situation.
The other guys I think of WRT to extraordinary expectations were Tate Forcier and Devin Gardner. But that was more about the need at Michigan, not necessarily assuming the guy would be an all conference QB.
Others in the last decade with these kind of high expectations:
Cullen Christian
Kyle Kalis
Pat Kugler
Cesar Ruiz
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Hill would exceed my expectations if he were anything more than a journeyman starter at any point in his career. Michigan has a very poor track record with highly rated safety prospects. They either don’t develop at all, or we get maybe one decent year out of them. Even Peppers, who was supposed to be a mega-recruit, underproduced as a safety.
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Thanks for clarifying. I think by journeymen you mean below average (i.e., no all conference honors of any kind) and not the traditional definition of playing a bit part on many teams – which generally doesn’t fit for college. Feel free to correct my interpretation.
To me – Peppers exceeded expectations and Gary met them, based on historical performance of top recruits. Rankings aside, I think they both did exceptionally well at somewhat unique positions (viper and anchor) that people struggle to evaluate.
Will be interesting to watch how players at these positions do at the next level in more conventional roles. Peppers and Wormley seem to be thriving. We’ll see about Hudson and Gary, but the fact that they replaced the others without much issue is a great testament to their ability and talent.
But also the defensive coaching staff under Harbaugh. It is incredible that Michigan has been able to field a top 10 defense each of the last 4 seasons. The only team that can also say that is Alabama, though Clemson and Georgia weren’t far off.
We’ll see if the steak can continue in 2019. And if the offense can hold up it’s end of the bargain.
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So after how many years will having a top 10 defense start to seem hollow when it doesn’t produce any wins in big road games, no wins over OSU, no championships, and no playoff appearances? 5? 6? 7? Just clarifying.
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Nobody thinks a top 10 defense guarantees any of that.
The analogy i would make is to income and happiness. Making a lot doesn’t guarantee it, but it helps and a certain level is necessary. There’s nothing wrong with being glad you are in that position and have the opportunity to focus on other relevant factors.
In Michigan’s case — the issues to work on are on offense. That said, even if they get to Top 10 in offense also — you still have to win the games.
I personally would rather upset OSU as a feisty underdog than lose as a juggernaut.
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So of course, after badgering me for an answer to your rather irrelevant question, you’re going to do everything you can to dodge mine:
“After how many years will having a top 10 defense start to seem hollow when it doesn’t produce any wins in big road games, no wins over OSU, no championships, and no playoff appearances? 5? 6? 7? Just clarifying.”
The point being that a “top 10 defense” is not an end in itself, merely a means to an end. An end which Jim Harbaugh is no closer to achieving than he was 4 years ago. Sure, for a couple of seasons, you can tout a highly ranked defense, and revel in the big turn around from the Hoke era, but at some point, you have to do better than 1-7 over the last two games of the season.
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Like I said – you are talking about different things.
It’s irrelevant to talk about how we’re all going to die. It may be true but it has nothing to do with being impressed by being 1 of 2 teams in the country to have a top 10 defense in each of the last 4 years.
What’s not irrelevant is expectations for incoming coming players, if that’s going to define your entire view of a player’s career.
You like to accuse people of dodging your questions but you dodge with vague words like “low” and “journeymen” instead of anything tangible.
But OK – I’ll play along. The answer to your question is: never. If nothing changes, nothing changes.
You can call it ‘hallow’ or ‘irrelevant’ all you want. It is what it is. Eat Arbys.
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So in other words, you’ll still be reveling in a statistical ranking of one aspect of the team when Harbaugh is 0-10 against OSU with no division championships, no conference championships and no playoff appearances. Gotcha.
Just so you know, you’ll be in the minority.
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Yes, I’ll continue to appreciate where Michigan is elite and acknowledge where Michigan isn’t, rather than just bitching that we’re not Alabama like a broken record. Even if it’s not the topic at all.
In other words, I’ll try to enjoy the good things that are there in Michigan football. You can pretend that that means I’m ignoring the losses to OSU or lack of championships if you want, but that’s your imagination.
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Over the last 10 #1 picks Gary’s production falls right in the middle – #6.
Gary was more productive than 4:Green-Beckham, Powell, Nkemdiche, Thompson.
Less productive than 5: Clowney, Bowers, Fournette, Barkley, McKnight
And frankly McKnight is pretty debatable since he’s an unexceptional player who happened to play at a powerhouse offense.
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Thunder, your Amazon link is not showing up on mobile… just ordered mother’s day gifts
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Dagnabbit!
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