Michigan Football Recruiting: Jabrill Peppers — 2014 Time Capsule
Posted at 12:00pm — 2/20/2014
Michigan Football Recruiting: Jabrill Peppers — 2014 Time Capsule
Jabrill Peppers was the third recruit out of the remaining nine not on campus already to sign and send in his letter of intent on signing day. He is one of the most talented players coming into Michigan in quite along time. He has been rated in the top five from all the recruiting services in their recruiting rankings of all their combined recruits.
GBMWolverine Readers: Here is a overview of University of Michigan 2014 Signed Commit Jabrill Peppers.
Height: 6’1
Weight: 210
Birthday: October 4, 1995
Number: 5
Current Position: Cornerback/Tailback/Receiver/Athlete
Future Position: Cornerback
City/State: Paramus, New Jersey
High School: Paramus Catholic
Head Coach: Chris Partridge
Recruiter: Coach Curt Mallory, Greg Mattison, and Roy Manning
Official Visit: 12/13/2013
Committed: 5/26/2013
Top Offers: Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and USC
40-Time: 4.4
GPA: 3.7
All-Star Game: 2014 Under Armour All-America Game
Class: 2014 Michigan Wolverine Recruiting Class (Signed).
Follow Jabrill: on Twitter
Coach Hoke on Peppers:
“Jabrill, he’s a four-time state champion. He’s very active, very athletic. He’s a guy who is a big, instinctive, physical corner.”
Key Stats:
Totaled 134 tackles, seven interceptions, 5.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks on defense and carried the ball 373 times for 3,059 yards and 43 touchdowns during career. Also hauled in 57 receptions for 842 yards and 17 touchdowns. Totaled 57 tackles and four interceptions as a senior. Posted 77 tackles, three interceptions, 2.0 tackles for loss and one sack as a junior.
Four-time NJSIAA Group 4 state champion two with Paramus and two with Don Bosco Prep under Coach Greg Toal as a freshman and sophomore. Named 2013 All-USA Defensive Player of the Year by USA TODAY as a senior. First-team All-USA High School Football Team selection as a senior. Participated in the 2014 Under Armour All-America Game. Also named team captain for Team Nitro.
Other Sports:
Also lettered in track and field. Won the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the New Jersey Meet of Championships as a junior. Broke the New Jersey state record in the 200-meter dash, recording a time of 20.79 seconds at the Big North Championships as a junior.
Rankings:
24/7: .
ESPN: .
Rivals: .
Scout: .
Note: Stars do matter, but are not absolute in predicting success within a football program. So, with that in mind the GBMWolverine Staff has cleverly come up with a new system of ranking. We are using footballs instead of stars, how can one argue against a system that clever? Below are the interpretations of football power predicted way too boldly long before it matters. In other words, we will give informed opinion with the crystal ball and let the players determine what will happen through years of hard work.
Criteria: Raw talent, athleticism, position of need, intangibles.
10 footballs: Instant impact player.
9 footballs: Three or four-year starter at a high level.
8 footballs: A starter with all league potential.
7 footballs: A meaningful starter at some time during a career.
6 footballs: A spot starter or special teams player.
5 footballs: Not in the two deep after a two years.
4 footballs: Never made it.
1-3 footballs: See the above.
Remember just as we did during the season with grading positions or groups we are very tough graders and expect a lot out of those positions or players so this is no different here.
Peppers played at Don Bosco Prep’s his freshman and sophomore year and then decided to transfer to Paramus. He has said early on that his childhood favorite was Michigan, but Wolverine fans know how that goes sometimes. Jabrill Peppers firmly established himself as a five-star and one of the nation’s elite.
His Commitment Comments:
After taking spring visits to many college campuses, he committed to Michigan on national TV in May with a helmet and a rap. “I knew right after the visit, but I still just wanted to take it slowly and give some other colleges a chance. I figured if Michigan could surprise me so much then I’m pretty sure that another one of my top choices could as well. Every visit I went on, I compared to Michigan and it was just no comparison. It was just the feel of it, the coaches, just everything.”
Peppers is clearly one of the top football players in the nation. He is, by most sources, rated in the top five nationally, with multiple sources rating him second. Athletically, Jabrill just may be the top athlete on the football recruiting list for 2014. He is that impact player fans of every program wait on to step the program to the next level.
What is to like about Jabrill Peppers? The answer is about everything, across the spectrum. Besides magnificent physical gifts, Jabrill appears to have the cognitive and mental aspects needed for college success on the football field. He has excellent size, great acceleration and recovery speed, and is the leader in lead, follow, or get out of my way types.
Jabrill is past potential, but he has the potential to be as good as any player on the Michigan team, perhaps of the last several years.
He has the intangibles of focus, effort, hard work, scholarship, and you fill in the rest of the blanks.
Jabrill is a phenomenal athlete who also happens to be a super football prospect. He has the skill to be an elite level player, and that is his and Michigan’s expectation. If pressed Jabrill could play any defensive back position, wide receiver, or running back at Michigan. He could also make one heck of a return man. Jabrill is a very good track athlete having run a sub 11 second 100 meters. Again, it is wonderful to report that Michigan has another solid student/citizen with a 3.7 GPA from a highly regarded prep school.
Strengths:
Combines good size with super speed and a high level of overall skill. Jabrill changes direction with little loss of speed. He tracks the ball with ease in the air and shows exciting acceleration and range. Film shows a smooth and easy back pedal and solid hips. Jabrill fills like a linebacker and is a physical tackler.
Jabrill needs to use his hands better jamming on the outside. His tackling could also be bit sharper; at times he is overaggressive going for highlight reel hits instead of just a solid form tackle.
Red-shirt or play his Freshman Year?
GBMWolverine believes he will definitely play his first year. He has all the physical skills if he picks up the mental part, everything else is in place. The thing that most don’t know is where and how soon might be the real question. He could help out at cornerback, nickel back, safety, special teams, running back, and possibly receiver.
Jabrill Peppers reminds the GBMWolverine Staff of — Former Michigan Football Player — Charles Woodson — who played Cornerback. Hopefully the resemblance is truly strong and remember as well we base these off of what a player did coming into Michigan — not what he did at Michigan when comparing the recruits to former players at the same time frame entering Michigan.
Video Highlights:
As many know we don’t usually give out 10 footballs so Jabrill is probably the closest thing you will see from our site. Also we don’t compare every cornerback or say “he will be the next Charles Woodson”, but Jabrill has some of the same skills that Charles did at the high school level such as a great running back who was named “Mr. Football in Ohio” for being a running back and many people thought he would have made an excellent running back at the college level, but Charles wanted to play cornerback and one reason why he chose Michigan.
We welcome Jabrill Peppers to Michigan and hope he has a successful career on and off the football field as a student-athlete at the University of Michigan. Go Blue!
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff
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