Illinois has announced senior starting quarterback Brandon Peters and redshirt freshman tight end Griffin Moore tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
Both Peters and Moore will miss the Illini game against Purdue on Saturday along with “several other players” who were sidelined for contact tracing. Peters and Moore will sit out 21 days according to Big Ten policy and will be eligible to return for the Nov. 21 game at Nebraska.
That timeline will cause both players to miss games against Purdue, Minnesota and Rutgers, and will return with only four games left on the schedule.
Peters threw for 1,884 yards and 18 touchdowns last season for Illinois and was 8 of 19 with 87 yards in the first game against Wisconsin.
While it isn’t clear if the positive tests are related, Wisconsin was the Illini opponent in the first week of the season and the Badgers are dealing with a COVID-19 breakout of their own. Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said on College GameDay on Saturday that Wisconsin now has 22 total cases within the program.
That includes head coach Paul Chryst, starting quarterback Graham Mertz and backup quarterback Chase Wolf. The Badgers canceled the game against Nebraska this weekend and Alvarez said the program will make a decision on Tuesday whether or not the team will be able to play the game against Purdue on Nov.
Also, Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore is not expected to play Saturday at Illinois, a source told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.
Moore also sat out last week’s season opener against Iowa but was on the sideline.
