Jabrill Peppers is really, really good at football. That really isn't up for debate at this point, but in the same breath, Peppers hasn't quite reached the level of fame that players like Deshaun Watson, Christian McCaffrey, Leonard Fournette and others have achieved.
Maybe that's changing.
In advance of this weekend's battle between top 10 teams, Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst was asked about Peppers and his impact for the Michigan Wolverines and, well, he went above and beyond. Here is the quote, via Wayne Staats of LandOf10 (bold emphasis mine):
He's a really — he's a special football player. There's two things when I think of him. One is, there aren't a lot of players that can impact the game in all three phases like he does. And then when you watch him some more, he does a lot of the little things that are kind of reserved for when you specialize. That's what's impressive, his knowledge and awareness of the game — clearly as an athlete he's special. But I think the football part of him, the understanding, that's what, to me, really makes him...he's gotta be the best player in college football right now. As far as football and doing everything.
Yes, that is Paul Chryst calling Jabrill Peppers the best player in college football.
Of course, that isn't much of a stretch for a player that is currently among the country's leaders in both tackles for loss and punt return yardage (a strange combination) and Peppers has been receiving buzz for a long time. It isn't always easy to quantify his contributions given the versatility and explosiveness that he brings, but Peppers is a uniquely talented figure and he should be treated as such.