The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Peppers is also excelling at the mental side of the game, a crucial component to playing the position with coaches depending on the strong safety and free safety to relay information and coordinate with the linebackers and linemen to put ev- eryone in proper position. "Jabrill is also communicating well, looks like he understands the defense and is trying to make guys around him better," said Ray, who has at- tended practice this spring. "The last piece will be tackling, to see what he has going on in that department. Overall, though, he's playing well, and I think he can be an upgrade in that secondary." Michigan returns a two-year starter in Jarrod Wilson at free safety, and the 6-2, 210-pound senior could be just the right partner for Peppers. "He knows the game," Ray said. "His biggest strength is he under- stands the defense and where he needs to line up, but I think Wilson is too safe, content with just understanding what his job is. "I think he needs to get everybody else going, lined up, make sure these guys have confidence in the calls, knowing where to be, then he can start anticipating. Then he can start telling guys, 'Now you know where you're lined up, watch this play, watch this, and let's do this.' "That's something you do as a se- nior, an older safety. You're going to have to make some plays back there because you're going to get tested. I don't think anybody in college really respects Michigan back there right now. He's going to have to be a field general or he's going to get passed up eventually." There are other safeties, including se- nior Jeremy Clark, and juniors Delano Hill and Dymonte Thomas, in the mix this spring, but after only the briefest of debuts a year ago, Peppers owns the spotlight. Maximizing his contribution is Michigan's top priority. "Jabrill is a high-energy guy," Dur- kin said. "He's very talented. He's explosive. He's sudden. He's all the things you want a guy to be. "We have high expectations for Ja- brill, and most importantly, Jabrill has high expectations for himself." WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO USE U-M'S LINEBACKERS? Michigan's linebacker corps is one of the most experienced position groups on the team, with four seniors, three returning starters and a junior in Ben Gedeon that has played sig- nificantly in a reserve role. The Maize and Blue also have high hopes for junior Mike McCray and sophomore Noah Furbush, giving U-M seven strong competitors for three spots. Or is it four spots? Durkin has said Michigan will em- ploy both the 4-3 and the 3-4 this fall, offering the variations both to confuse offenses and to make best use of their personnel. "That's something we have always done where I've been defensively and something Coach [Jim] Harbaugh has done — playing guys at multiple spots and figuring out what our best combination is," Durkin said. "I think we have the right players to do it." With an abundance of linebackers,