The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/751827
DECEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 21 What They're Saying About Jabrill Peppers Everybody in college football has something to say about Michigan red- shirt sophomore linebacker Jabrill Peppers these days. Here is a sampling of recent comments: Unnamed NFL executive via NJ.com: "He's a top-five pick in my mind. He's unbelievable. He's the most versatile player I've ever scouted. He does it all for Michigan. I think at our level, he's a safety — he reminds me of Troy Polamalu [an eight-time Pro Bowler for the Pittsburgh Steelers]. I don't think I'd use him on offense. He could be a good return man for you, though. What he is, is just a phenomenal athlete. But he's more than that, because he's tough and he's smart, too." Unnamed NFL scout via NJ.com: "He's better than Jalen Ramsey [the No. 5 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft], so there's that. He's a safety, but you can match him up if you want. He can take on the better tight ends, [like the Washington Redskins'] Jordan Reed, man-to-man. You can put him in the slot. You can blitz him, play him deep. He's going to be a difference-maker for a defense." Rutgers head coach Chris Ash: "He can do it all. He's obviously got good size, freakish athletic ability, good ball skills. He's tough and not afraid to hit you. When he's on offense and runs the ball — he runs it hard. He can make you miss, run through you. In my years of coaching, he's as good as there is." Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst: "He's got to be the best player in college football right now." CBSSports.com: "Peppers' combination of size, speed and strength is unique in college football, and it's made him the kind of transformative star that can contend for awards that have been dominated in recent years by quarterbacks and running backs. Playing for Michigan, one of the most recognizable national brands in the sport, and having this season in a year that the Wolverines are national title contenders makes it even more likely that Peppers could be the unlikely finalist, and possible winner [of the Heis- man Trophy], as a defensive player." Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio: "He's going to be in there whether he's at quarterback, tailback, wide receiver. We've got to know where he's at when he's in the football game on offense, but he's a play- maker and he's an aggressive playmaker on defense that they're going to use as a blitzer, and he's got coverage skills. He's just an outstanding football player." Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz: "He's a really dynamic return guy, but he plays great on defense, and he's a threat offensively, too. He's a tre- mendous football player. That's such an unusual combination, especially where he plays on defense. He's down in the box. I've never seen any- body that did that and then returned kicks and punts and looked like a corner or safety back there." Yahoo! Sports: "Jack Harbaugh is around the Michigan foot- ball facility just about every day. The 77-year-old patriarch of a coaching family loves being around the school where he was an assistant to Bo Schembechler in the 1970s, and he loves being around son Jim's program. "Ask him about Jabrill Peppers, and his eyes sparkle. For a guy whose coaching career stretches back to the early 1960s, this is a throwback player. "'It puts a smile on my face watching him,' the elder Harbaugh said. 'For me, it links the past with the fu- ture. When I played and started coaching, it was single- platoon football — your fullback was a linebacker, your halfback was a cornerback. Nobody ever left the field. This is a flashback.'" — John Borton BY THE NUMBERS 1 Player in Big Ten history has won the league's Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week awards for the same game since the league started the special teams honor in 1994. Peppers was the co- Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Colorado, posting a career- best nine tackles, including six solo stops and 3.5 tackles for loss while recording 204 all-purpose yards. 4 Major national awards Peppers has already been named as a semifinalist for — the Maxwell (college football's most outstanding player), the Chuck Bednarik (top defender), the Jim Thorpe (top defensive back) and the Lott IMPACT Trophy (best defender in character and performance). 4 All-purpose plays by Peppers have gained 50 or more yards, which is tied for 23rd nationally according to CFBStats.com. It doesn't include his fumble return on a two-point conversion against Michigan State, which would move him into a tie for ninth if it counted. 13 Different positions played this year by Pep- pers, according to Michigan: linebacker, free safety, strong safety, cornerback, nickel back, quar- terback, running back, wide receiver, slot receiver, punt returner, kickoff returner, punt coverage gun- ner and punt hold up (blocker). 13.6 Yards is what Peppers averages per touch. After 10 games, he has 21 rushes for 161 yards and three touchdowns, two receptions for three yards, 16 punt returns for 276 yards and a touchdown, and eight kickoff returns for 198 yards. 17.2 Is Peppers' average per punt return, which leads the Big Ten among players with multiple runbacks and ranks third nationally. The single-season school record is 15.7, set by Desmond Howard in 1991, his Heisman-winning campaign. 20 Tackles for loss is what Peppers is on pace for in 14 games af- ter totaling 14 in the first 10 games. That would tie for the eighth-best single-season total since U-M began tracking the stat in 1978. His aver- age of 1.4 tack- les for loss per game is tied for 19th nationally and ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten as of Nov. 15. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN