The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/480355
T hree weeks into Michigan's spring practice, some rum‑ blings had emerged from the sessions that can be interpreted either positively or negatively. Here are the players and topics generat‑ ing discussion. JABRILL PEPPERS Pro: From all indications, the 6‑1, 205‑pounder might be even better than advertised when he was the No. 3 recruit in 2014. Peppers has de‑ voted countless hours to his playbook according to teammates, and is more knowledgeable about the defense than most veterans. With that intelligence, coupled with immense physical skills, and his de‑ sire to be a difference‑maker, Peppers will emerge as the best ball‑hawking, head‑rattling safety Michigan has had in a decade. Con: The hype for Peppers was deafening a year ago, and while he saw his season cut short due to in‑ jury after just three games, the ture freshman was no immediate game‑ changer, notching eight tackles. He may have elite athleticism, but that was said about senior safety Jar‑ rod Wilson too, and four years into his career the production has been modest — two interceptions, four passes broken up, three tackles for loss. In other words, Peppers has to prove himself before All‑America talk is warranted. JAKE RUDOCK Pro: If the Iowa transfer decides to make Ann Arbor his home in 2015, he could be the missing ingredient in a Big Ten championship run. The 6‑3, 208‑pound senior — he is eligible instantly as a graduate student — was an accurate passer in his two seasons as a starter, completing 60.3 percent of his 691 pass attempts for 4,819 yards with 34 touchdowns compared to 18 interceptions. He's not the stud former Jim Har‑ baugh disciple (and Indianapolis Colt QB) Andrew Luck is, but he could be an Alex Smith type; Smith led San Francisco to a 13‑3 record in Harbaugh's first season with the 49ers (2011), completing 61.3 percent of his passes for 3,144 yards with 17 scores and five picks before Colin Kaeper‑ nick was drafted. Con: There was a reason the Iowa signal‑caller lost his job late in the season, and while his numbers looked acceptable in his final four starts — 58.3 percent completion rate, 210.0 yards per game, six total touchdowns to only two interceptions — there is an absent intangible, with the Hawk‑ eyes going 1‑3 in that stretch, and 13‑11 in his career. Observers in Iowa City have de‑ MAIZE N' VIEW MICHAEL SPATH Weighing Pros And Cons