Illinois starting QB scratched after positive COVID test

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Illinois starting quarterback Brandon Peters was announced as a scratch shortly before kickoff against Purdue Saturday due to a positive COVID-19 test on Thursday.

Illini backup quarterback Isaiah Washington also was lifted from the game due to “contact tracing protocols,” said Illinois spokesman Kent Brown.

“Illinois senior quarterback Brandon Peters and redshirt freshman tight end Griffin Moore were both sidelined for 21 days following positive test results Thursday for the COVID-19 virus,” Brown said. “Per Big Ten Conference protocol, following recovery both players will be eligible to return for the Nov. 21 game at Nebraska.”

The announcement was made about an hour before kickoff.

Contact tracing also was expected to sideline other Illinois for today and next week’s game against Minnesota, although those names were not available prior to the game.

There were no reports of any Purdue players being out. Boilermaker coach Jeff Brohm, who missed last week’s game due to COVID protocols, was back on the sideline Saturday.

Illinois played Wisconsin Oct. 23, a game the No. 9 Badgers won 45-7, and Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz tested positive the following day. Several additional Wisconsin players tested positive, forcing the cancellation of the Badgers' game against Nebraska Saturday.

Illinois coach Lovie Smith said on Wednesday that there had been no COVID-19 positive tests on the team.

“Our team is clean,” Smith said at the time. “We’re kind of hunkered down in the bunker. We have a protocol in place that we follow daily. But right now for our football team, not much has changed.”