The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2016 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE more than a month now and is pre- paring to be Michigan's future quar- terback. He likely won't be needed as a freshman, but he's working like he's going to be the starter for the season opener. "I'm just working hard and per- fecting my game and getting ad- justed to the college level," he said. "Physically, I'm working on getting bigger, stronger and faster, and I'm working on my footwork." One of the unsung coaches on Michigan's staff is directly involved in helping the young quarterback achieve his goals, and Peters has already taken well to him. Director of strength and conditioning Kevin Tolbert is in second year and is wast- ing no time getting after the early enrollee. "Coach Tolbert is awesome," Pe- ters said with a smile. "He's a really good motivator and he has me doing workouts that I've never done be- fore, just moving my body in differ- ent ways than I've ever done." Working out and learning schemes are important for all young football players. But those are only part of the necessary attributes for a quar- terback. He has to also be a leader, play smart and control the game, and Bless believes Peters possesses the ability to check off all of those re- quirements. "He's got a great disposition," Bless said. "He's very concerned about his teammates. We went through a leadership packet before our season and each senior stood up and spoke, and I was very impressed with Brandon. "He actually spoke up and talked about his beliefs and his goals for the team, and I felt very confident from that moment in his leadership ability. He'll lead by example all day long, but we worked on him to be more vocal and I think he's come a long way in that regard." Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt agrees that Peters has a bit of an "it" factor when it comes to performing under the lights. "The first thing I noticed about him when I went to see him as a junior was the kid is a gamer," Helmholdt said. "When the game was on the line, he took control of the team in the huddle. "I watched him will his team back in a game that it looked like they were going to lose. That showed me a lot about his internal makeup." Peters committed to Michigan just before the spring game in April 2015, and now that he's on campus the re- lationships that led him to Ann Arbor are now real and in place. "The bonding I had with the coaches was the main thing that made me commit," Peters said. "I really felt a good connection with them. They have a ton of NFL ex- perience and I know they are good coaches. I feel like they can get me to where I want to be. "It's definitely an awesome feeling being a Michigan Man. There's no better place to be than Michigan and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. It's the perfect place for me." ❏