Jabrill Peppers, right, of the Michigan Wolverines reacts after a pass intended for DaeSean Hamilton of the Penn State Nittany Lions on Nov. 21, 2015, in State College, Pa. (Photo: Getty Images)
The more Michigan football coaches see Jabrill Peppers do, the more their minds expand about his potential.
While the redshirt freshman’s primary position is safety, U-M coach Jim Harbaugh said today he could be an exclusively offensive player — or even more — drawing a comparison to an all-time baseball great.
On Monday, Harbaugh had mentioned that U-M coaches will look more at Peppers as a tailback next year, given what they’ve seen from him in limited work.
“Yes, it’s realistic to think that,” Harbaugh said on the Big Ten conference call today. “He’s such good player. I can think of five different positions he could be really good at in football. Can somebody be the Willie Mays of football? Can somebody be the five-tool player, the five-position player? Maybe. Maybe that’ll end up being Jabrill Peppers. He’ll find his absolute best position as you go along. It’s interesting to think about and consider the possibilities.”
A former ALL-USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 at Paramus Catholic in NJ, he began this season a safety and kick returner, as the coaches were concerned about him handling what was thrown his way. But as the games went on, he added duties as a cornerback, a nickel back and even some snaps at linebacker. On offense, the breakthrough came against Michigan State, when he lined up as a receiver. The Spartans were so concerned, they called consecutive time-outs to prepare for him.
Against Minnesota, he entered at tailback and as a wildcat quarterback.
So what about this weekend against Ohio State (noon Saturday, ABC) and beyond?