The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/603303
INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS The Wolverine: Redshirt fresh- man defensive back Jabrill Pep- pers has added some value as a decoy, in addition to being a weapon on offense. How benefi- cial has that been? Fisch: "He's just got great value, period. He's a great football player and a guy we can continue to play and do all sorts of different things for us, whether he's out- side, inside … he probably played running back, wide receiver and has taken a snap for us. "He has great value there for us. He's another great football player, a skill guy that you can go out there and run your offense with." The Wolverine: We've heard good things about Houston quarterback transfer John O'Korn. How good has he been on the scout team? Fisch: "I don't really watch a lot of their practice, because he's running the scout team for the opponent's offense, but he looks like he's sharp. In the meeting room, he's very engaged, works very hard at it, has got a talented arm … kind of the things we saw at St. Thomas [Aquinas High in Florida] when I was at Miami. "I remember him from then, saw a couple films at Houston. He's good … got a gifted arm, is a good athlete and it means a lot to him." The Wolverine: How much of an impact has fifth-year senior and graduate transfer Jake Rudock made on the younger quarterbacks in the room? Fisch: "They look at him like an elder. We laugh about it because Jake's so good. He handles himself above his years. You definitely get confused with a 33-year-old and a 23-year-old with him. … He just does things right. "Academically, he does things right, he wants to go to medical school. He studies, he's prepared, he takes great notes and I really believe that all of those guys get to see that, and it benefits them." — Chris Balas In addition to his role of passing game coordina- tor, Fisch mentors both the quarterbacks and wide receivers. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN