Brandon Peters, known by his teammates and coaches (former and current) as being the “calm and quiet” type, let his performance in Saturday’s 35-14 win over Rutgers do his talking for him.
From this AM:
Brandon Peters' voice is quiet, but his arm isn't.
An arm speaks louder … https://t.co/drq9em2LjX
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) October 31, 2017
It certainly came as no surprise to Peters’ former high school coach at Avon High School (IN), Mark Bless.
“He was more calm than any of us were on the sideline,” Bless, Peters’ coach at Avon High School, told the Free Press this week. “That’s Brandon. And that’s what I saw Saturday when he took the field at Michigan.”
“We just kind of accepted, over time, that he’s just not going to be a real loud guy,” Bless recalled. “But he was always ready to play football.”
Normally when describing quarterbacks, generally one of the things that the position is not known for is being quiet. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh knew and understood the type of player and person Peters was, but also knew something had to change.
“It’s ‘just be louder, Brandon,’ ” Harbaugh said back in August. “Please.”
Harbaugh says Brandon Peters has really elevated his game. Still quiet, though.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) July 25, 2017
Even Brandon Peters himself has seen this as an area he needs to improve in
Brandon Peters: "i've come a long way since fall camp with my communication… i think my biggest step has been my communication"
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) October 28, 2017
But even though he has been quiet, his teammates have seen the skills that Peters possess. Some even resorted to methods of taunting or baiting to get him going.
“He’s a freak athletically, too, and people haven’t even seen that yet,” center Patrick Kugler says. “He can throw the ball everywhere.”
“We would tease him (in practice). Before a play I’d be like ‘BP, I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you,’ ” sophomore linebacker Devin Bush Jr. said with a smile. “But (over the course of the season) I feel like he’s broke out of that shell and started to take a grasp of that offense.”
Only time will tell nation if Peters’ skills will overcome his quietness on the field. The expectations are sky-high for the redshirt freshman. And while Harbaugh has yet to definitively tab him as “the guy” for this Saturday’s game against Minnesota, he did say he plans to play Peters more down the stretch.
