The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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After that, he will then dedicate hours of practice time to hone his technique. "I do feel like I'm progressing, but I'm not playing the way I think I should be playing and the way the coaches expect me to play," he said. "I have to keep staying with it. Keep the battle rhythm. Keep trying to make plays." Peppers' career got off to a slow start — a knee injury in September 2014 sidelined the Paramus (N.J.) Catholic standout for the rest of his rookie season. He is trying to make up for lost time, though, intent on making the most of his redshirt fresh- man campaign and every second he's on the field. "I'm pretty fired up all the time, especially when guys get to jawing at me," said Peppers, who noted BYU came after him with verbal jabs. "Coach Harbaugh preaches we play between the whistles, so I'm going to try to hurt you as much as I can between the whistles. "I just let my pads speak for me." The hype will follow Peppers throughout his career, and while no one inside Schembechler Hall cares about that, they are pleased with the player he is and continues to grow into. "He's done a great job and really is playing as a more mature guy than his age actually is," fifth-year senior linebacker Desmond Morgan said. ❏ Peppers Is Among The Best 2014 Five-Star Recruits Rivals.com gave out 33 five-star designations in the 2014 class, including Michi- gan's Jabrill Peppers (No. 3 player overall nationally). Here are the top-10 performers in roughly one-and-a-half seasons so far. 1. RB Leonard Fournette — LSU: Likely the nation's top running back, Fournette compiled 1,202 yards rushing in six games through Oct. 20, the most by an LSU player in school history for that span. He's averaging 8.0 yards per carry on 150 at- tempts this season and has 14 scores. A year ago, he set a school freshman record with 1,034 yards rushing. 2. QB Kyle Allen — Texas A&M: A starter in 11 career games through Oct. 20, in- cluding five his true freshman season, Allen is 8-3, completing 204 of 326 attempts (62.6 percent) for 2,565 yards with 27 touchdowns in his starting assignments. 3. DE Myles Garrett — Texas A&M: The 6-5, 262-pound defensive end has been every bit a five-star, earning All-SEC second-team honors in 2014 after leading the Aggies in sacks (11.5) and tackles for loss (14.0). This season, he has already tallied 8.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss among 30 total stops in just six games. 4. RB Dalvin Cook — Florida State: Cook set a Florida State freshman record with 1,008 yards rushing and eight scores. This season, he has gone off for 955 yards and 10 touchdowns on 110 carries (8.7-yard average) in six FSU victories through Oct. 20.