Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
“He could ride his multi-faceted game all the way to a dark horse Heisman Trophy campaign, a la Charles Woodson in 1997.”
ESPN is doing a series choosing the most exciting player on each Big 10 team, and for the Michigan Wolverines they went with last season’s freshman of the year in Jabrill Peppers.
Peppers is considered the best athlete on the team, the fastest runner and the hardest hitter with an incredible football IQ. He’s also insanely versatile after starting at safety, returning punts and kicks, catching eight passes and carrying the ball 18 times last year.
But above all that is the thought Peppers can be even better in 2016:
Peppers moved to strongside linebacker this spring, where new defensive coordinator Don Brown hopes to use his athleticism to wreak even more havoc. The position switch appeared to go well, and it will be fascinating to watch how he adjusts to it early this season. There’s also the chance that Peppers could get more opportunities on the offensive side, and that he could ride his multi-faceted game all the way to a dark horse Heisman Trophy campaign, a la Charles Woodson in 1997.
It may be a bit far to compare Peppers with Woodson at this point, but he’s hard to match when it comes to excitement.