Even before he took the field in 2015, many around college football had big expectations for Jabrill Peppers under Jim Harbaugh. And quite frankly, Peppers lived up to those expectations, recording 45 total tackles and 10 pass break ups on defense, and scoring two touchdowns on offense.
For most of his snap, Peppers lined up at safety. However, as the year went on, Michigan experimented more and more at putting Peppers at different spots on the field. For 2016, it looks like that experimenting may be permanent, as Peppers is currently lining up as a linebacker under new defensive coordinator Don Brown.
"He's a dynamic athlete and we'll keep him around the line of scrimmage and let him do a bunch of stuff," Brown said after spring practices to the Detroit Free Press. "Whether it's cover, whether in certain personnel groups, play linebacker, tight stuff. Our SAM's kind of a hybrid."
The change is interesting, as the dynamic Peppers is listed at just 208 pounds, which isn't your usual build for a linebacker spot. However, the position should be unique enough to where Peppers is able to excel, as Peppers isn't afraid to make a tackle, and he is one of the fastest players on the field.
If there is any skepticism about this, Peppers has an excellent support cast at Michigan — both with coaching and teammates — that the Wolverines will have plenty on chances in-game this season to find the right spot on the field for the dynamic sophomore.
