The Wolverine

"My perspective on Jabrill is this is a kid who came out of high school that had all this excitement and expectations, and his first year was a big fat thud of nothing," Skene said. "Injuries, and then he vanished. "I talked to [former defensive backs coach] Curt Mallory, who was part of the recruiting process, and Mallory spoke extremely high of his potential, and we're waiting to see it." For Michigan fans, Sept. 3 can- not come soon enough to see what Peppers can do. Though there will likely be some ups and downs throughout the year, the former Paramus Catholic standout is just making too much noise with team- mates and coaches for him to be- come another five-star bust. "He's worth the attention in my opinion," Hill said. "He's done some great things in practice, and I'm confident he'll do them in the games once the season starts. "It is so much fun to play with him in practice because he's always talking, always pumping guys up, and his enthusiasm just brings out the best in us." ❏ Three Safeties Demanding Playing Time For Wolverines Redshirt freshman Jabrill Peppers has to play, but the Michigan coaches are also excited about senior Jarrod Wilson and junior Delano Hill, so what will they do with three capable safeties competing for two starting spots? Play all three at once. "All three of those guys will play a lot," safeties coach Greg Jackson said. "That's the plan — to try to put them on the field together at the same time. "Every single one of those guys does something differently that is really good. Peppers is the speedy guy that covers so much ground. Wilson is the more senior-type leader, and Delano has so much natural ability that if you could put him in the right position, he could do a lot of great things for us." In its first four games, against Utah, Oregon State, UNLV and BYU, Michigan is expected to play some version of the spread offense, thus necessitating five- defensive back looks. In the past, a third cornerback often came on the field, but U-M feels its third safety is grossly better than its third corner. "I think when you look at all of our safeties, we're versatile," Hill said. "We have really athletic guys with some size that can come down and play the run but can cover tight ends and slot receivers, and match up with just about anyone." "If you look at our safeties, they're guys that could play cornerback or nickel or Sam linebacker," Wilson added. "We have camp to figure it all out, but in the spring, the coaches really liked putting three of us out there, and I think that's still the plan this season." — Michael Spath

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