Jabrill Peppers has been anointed as the best player on Michigan's roster for a while now but, in the aftermath of a 78-0 drubbing of Rutgers on Saturday night, Jim Harbaugh went even further when describing his do-everything defensive wizard. The head coach essentially called Peppers the best player in the country by proclaiming that he is a Heisman Trophy candidate, if not the winner (h/t MLive.com).
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"In my humble opinion, I believe you're looking at a Heisman Trophy winner. Or a candidate.
Harbaugh, being true to his previous standard of word play, wasn't close to done talking about Peppers, either, as he compared him to Jim Thorpe before expanding on the thought that the super-athlete could be the best in the nation.
"If there's a better player in the country, I don't know who it is. I know there's a lot of great players out there. But this guy? To be able to coach a guy like Jabrill Peppers is a real joy. And there's so much more.
"He can throw the ball. I'll let you in on a little secret (there)."
Peppers, once again, did it all for the Wolverines in the blowout win, rushing for 74 yards and a touchdown on offense while starring defensively and in the return game. That is the recipe for creating Heisman buzz for a defense-first player (just ask Charles Woodson) and Harbaugh appears keen on promoting him in singular fashion.
At this point, it would still be a surprise if Jabrill Peppers won the Heisman, but it isn't as crazy as it once seemed.
