Jabrill Peppers (image via The Big Lead)
Name: Jabrill Peppers
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 205 lbs.
High school: Paramus (NJ) Catholic
Position: Linebacker/safety
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #5
Last year: I ranked Peppers #3 and said he would be a starting safety and punt returner, plus a part-time slot receiver and kickoff returner (LINK). He made 45 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 10 pass breakups; ran 18 times for 72 yards (4.0 yards/carry) and 2 touchdowns; caught 8 passes for 79 yards (9.9 yards/catch); returned 8 kickoffs for 223 yards (27.9 yards/return); and returned 17 punts for 194 yards (11.4 yards/return).
It’s difficult to quantify what kind of impact Jabrill Peppers had on the Wolverines in 2015, even with all the stats listed above. He was tied for 7th in the Big Ten in pass breakups, mostly from the slot corner position. He was 4th in punt return average. He would have been #1 in kickoff return average if he had had enough opportunities. He was 6th on the team in tackles and 9th in tackles for loss. He did all that in one fewer game than many of his teammates, since he sat out the 41-7 drubbing of Florida with a hand injury. All that production came from one guy, like a created player on NCAA Football (may its soul rest in peace).
Hit the jump for more Peppers.
Peppers hasn’t put up great statistics in any one category (except if you count the kickoff returns), but it’s the combination of them all that makes you go wow. He is also simply one of the most exhilarating athletes to watch in all of college football. A ball of speed and muscle at 6’1″, 205, he looks like one would draw up a running back/safety. He accelerates like he was shot out of a cannon, runs through blockers like cabbage through an intestinal tract, and makes plays very few other people in college football have ever been able to make. He’s the type of guy who can chase down a breakaway runner, tackle the football, and still yank down the ball carrier, something Delano Hill tried to do twice last year but couldn’t accomplish. He can go from playing slot corner to playing field corner to playing running back to returning punts to playing receiver to taking direct snaps. In big-time college football, the array of talents he shows is unparalleled.
So it’s disappointing that this could be his last year in Ann Arbor. He’s obviously an NFL-caliber athlete, even though it’s not clear what position he would play at the next level. He can cover a ton of ground at safety, but do you want him 12 yards back from the ball? He has the speed to play corner, but he doesn’t have the greatest instincts. He could be a running back, except he doesn’t have much experience. He could also be a dynamic slot receiver – imagine him catching the ball 100 times a year like Wes Welker.
Michigan plans to use him in many ways this year, too. The coaching staff has been employing him in numerous spots on defense, even though he’s nominally the starting SAM linebacker. Last year at Boston College, the guy playing SAM linebacker for Don Brown (6’1″, 218 lb. converted safety Matt Milano) made 60 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery. Michigan didn’t give away too much in the spring, playing pretty basic defense the whole way, but they’re going to line Peppers up everywhere, blitz him, and let him wreak havoc. Jim Harbaugh has said that he’s playing some offense in camp, and I imagine he will be returning some punts and kickoffs, too. He has to get a break sometime, but he’s too talented to remove from that equation altogether.
The primary backup at SAM linebacker is Noah Furbush, a guy who has only played special teams so far. He’s also a very different player as a more traditional 6’4″, 240 lb. linebacker. Furbush doesn’t offer the same versatility defensively, let alone on offense and special teams. Meanwhile, Michigan has other guys who can return punts (Amara Darboh has experience) or kickoffs (Jehu Chesson, Dymonte Thomas, and Jourdan Lewis have played there), but Darboh is less dynamic on punt returns, while those other guys also have big roles on offense or defense. Toss in the fact that Peppers figures to get 40-50 touches on offense, and he’s a very valuable commodity. He brings a swagger and confidence to the team, and he’s a guy who can make a play – against other great teams – at any given time.
Enjoy it while it lasts.
Prediction: Starting SAM linebacker (55 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 interceptions); part-time slot receiver/running back (15 carries, 60 yards, 2 touchdowns; 6 catches, 60 yards, 1 touchdown); part-time kickoff/punt returner
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I noticed you didn’t have him getting any touchdowns in the return game. Does this have anything to do with us losing our special teams guru back to the West coast? I’ve got him down for (at least) 1 punt return touchdown.
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Do you think U of M will push him as a Heisman candidate or what would it take for that to happen?
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I think he will be a Heisman candidate if he comes out and makes highlight-reel plays consistently. and the plays affect the outcome of the game. It has to be Woodson-esque and then some, i think, I’m not even sure if schools really do the pushing or even spend a lot of time on a Heisman “campaign”. I believe it’s all established in the media by the ol’ eye test.
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I think Michigan will push to make him a Heisman candidate if he starts off with a really good season. But for a primarily defensive player, what he really needs to do is make a big impact on defense. That means he has to create turnovers. He can’t just break up passes and make tackles. He needs to make interceptions, force fumbles (and maybe make sacks while he’s forcing those fumbles), etc. Simply repeating what he did last season won’t cut it for a Heisman.
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It has more to do with the fact that I just don’t make predictions for every facet of the game.
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In my mind Peppers and Cole are clearly 1 and 2. Peppers is a special player and talent, as Thunder covered well above. But the thing working against Peppers (in terms of rank) is that Michigan had their best performance of the year without him.
Peppers does a lot of things very very well, but there are a lot of potential replacements who also do said things very well. On D – Michigan has 3 other good corners (not to mention Long) and Lewis can shift inside to nickel. They have Furbush, they have Hudson, they have Kinnell – the D is loaded. On ST – Michigan has very capable punt returners in Darboh or Chesson (before you consider freshman talent). On O – Michigan didn’t have anyone who had Peppers play-making talent from the backfield last year, but this year it sounds like Evans and other freshman will offer alternatives.
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That’s not a great angle, IMO, that “Michigan had their best performance of the year without him.”
a) Florida didn’t want to be there.
b) Florida was missing several players.
c) Florida’s offense was bad all year long. Michigan could have lost various players and still stopped their O.
d) I don’t think missing Cole or virtually any other individual player would have changed the outcome of the Florida game much. Take away Cole, and it’s still probably 41-7 or 34-7 or something like that. The only individual player who changes the outcome of that game significantly is Jake Rudock, IMO.
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Agree Rudock was the MVP and easy #1 last year by a longshot. But he missed time last year despite excellent overall pass protection. Without it he probably misses a lot more.
The guy who protected his blindside was Mason Cole. Going from Cole to Newsome would have been a huge downgrade, even for single game, but certainly over a longer stretch.
Can’t argue with a-c. Another team may have hurt M more. While Florida was a middling O, they were far from terrible. That game showed Lewis is a capable replacement for Peppers, Stribling/Clark for Lewis, etc. Perhaps not true against an OSU, but there are better options here than a true freshman who is not remotely ready.
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Love the last thought : Enjoy it while it lasts.
Doesn’t just go for Peppers, but Lewis, Wormley, Butt, Chesson, Charlton, Glasgow, Smith, etc. This has the makings of a special team.
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