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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Jabrill Peppers, Wolverine

Paramus (NJ) Catholic cornerback Jabrill Peppers
Paramus (NJ) Catholic cornerback Jabrill Peppers committed to Michigan today. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, and numerous others.

I posted a scouting report on Peppers last Thursday, so you can go there to find a good deal of relevant analysis.  As a junior in 2012, Peppers had 172 carries for 1,552 yards (9.0 yards/carry) and 18 touchdowns; he also caught 20 passes for 337 yards (16.9 yards/catch). And on defense, he had 77 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 3 interceptions.

You can see from the scouting report that I really like Peppers's game.  He is one of the top few prospects in the country - if not the absolute best - and looks to me like the top cornerback in the nation.  He plays safety for the Paladins, so transitioning to college cornerback might take a little work.  But the physical talent and coordination are sufficient for bumping to corner.  Lots of high schools will put their best player at safety so he can affect the whole field, rather than putting him on one side and letting the opponent run or throw away from him.

As for his role at Michigan, he will presumably arrive in 2014 when starting corners Raymon Taylor and Blake Countess are a senior and a redshirt junior, respectively; the projected free safety will be junior returning starter Jarrod Wilson. A spot should be open at strong safety, which is where current freshman Dymonte Thomas projects to play once Thomas Gordon graduates after the 2013 season.  So once Thomas bumps from his current spot at nickel corner to strong safety, that could open the door for Peppers to start as a freshman and then move into a starting cornerback position as a sophomore in 2015.

As evidenced by his highlights and those statistics above, Peppers could make an impact in numerous ways. The coaches have told him that they might use him in some packages on offense (presumably at wide receiver), and he could also help the team as a punt/kickoff returner.  When talking about Peppers, comparisons to Charles Woodson - Michigan's cornerback/receiver/returner who won the 1997 Heisman - abound.

Peppers is the tenth member of the 2014 class, which is expected to be no larger than twenty players strong.  He is also the first defensive back of a projected three; Michigan probably wants one more cornerback and a safety.  Michigan has recruited New Jersey heavily in recent years, but results have been mixed in the Garden State.  Peppers's teammate Juwann Bushell-Beatty is an offensive tackle who committed to Michigan a few weeks ago, but before that the last few players from that state were linebacker J.B. Fitzgerald, safety/linebacker Brandon Smith, and defensive end Anthony Lalota; Fitzgerald lasted all four years but was never more than a backup, and Smith (Temple) and Lalota (Rutgers) transferred before quitting football altogether.

This is the first time I've given a . . .

TTB Rating: 100 (ratings explanation)

23 comments:

  1. You just gave out a 100? I don't know what to believe anymore.

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    1. Yeah, I was "only" expecting a 98 or so from Thunder for Peppers. Although, after reviewing Thunder's scouting report, I probably shouldn't be that surprised. I have never seen Thunder so effusive in his praise for a player. I imagine he had a hard time wiping the drool off of his keyboard.

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  2. Holy......

    Never thought I'd see the day.

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  3. Holy....

    Never thought I'd see the day.

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  4. 100 means you guarantee a Heisman, correct?

    I will accept nothing less than a Heisman from Peppers now.

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    1. What's amazing is one service (I think scout?) has him as the 8th best player or 11th or something. So that means 10 other players are ahead of him for the 2015-2016 heismans??

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    2. I think he's #11 to Scout, which I don't buy into at all. He might not be the #1 overall player, but he's definitely top five, in my opinion.

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    3. Yes, but now that he is committed to Michigan, he will drop to 37. Ferns has been hammered in the rankings this year.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Who, and what ranking was the previous high?
    PRL

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    1. Derrick Green and Kyle Kalis both had 95, I think that was the highest

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  7. BOOM!! my head just exploded

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  8. This is a very exciting commitment and Peppers sure looks like a player we will enjoy watching on the field.

    In the 2013 class we took 4 pure corners, Ross Douglas, Reon Dawson, Channing Stribling and Jordan Lewis plus Delano Hill who could play safety, but is supposedly starting out at corner. In the 2012 class, Terry Richardson was our only corner and in the 2011 class we got two gems in Countess and Taylor, plus Hollowell and Brown, who haven't panned out. Hopefully we'll add Westphal in this class.

    Given that we "start" 3, since the nickel position get so much PT, this seems like outstanding depth at a very important position. Given that we've brought in some of the best S recruits for a long time in the last couple of classes, this looks very promising. Hoke can recruit.

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    1. Thunder, if you had to guess today who would be the starter across from Peppers at the other corner once Blake graduates?

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    2. I would probably have Peppers at the boundary and Jourdan Lewis at field corner. Most of the current players will have graduated by then, so you're basically talking about class of 2013 guys. Countess redshirted in 2012, so he still has the 2013-15 seasons to play.

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  9. Not to jinx it, but Dashawn Hand would also be a 100, we're he to commit to UM, right?

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    1. I guess we'll find out if/when that happens...

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  10. What does it take to get over a 100 around here??? ;)

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  11. LeBron on high school lol

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