Michigan Wolverines

Jabrill Peppers won't win Heisman, but he got there

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

There aren’t too many who are honestly expecting Jabrill Peppers to win the Heisman Trophy, but this is about a player living up to the hype.

It’s not an absolute certainty, but the odds certainly aren’t in Jabrill Peppers’ favor to win the Heisman trophy tonight.

Bovada currently lists Peppers at +5,000. Ahead of him is Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson (+500) and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson (-1,300), who’s the favorite to win tonight. Peppers doesn’t have a problem calling himself “a long shot,” and neither should those who are hoping to see him win.

In May 2013, Peppers went on ESPNU to tell the nation where he would be going to play college football. It was Michigan of course; you probably remember the rap and helmet.

MGoBlog published a lucrative “Hello” post for the consensus five-star cornerback. The Michigan Daily (the school’s student newspaper) asked in November of that year if Peppers could become the next Charles Woodson. Basically, the sentiment was: This guy is going to be one of the most special players to play for Michigan in a long time.

After getting hurt and taking a redshirt season in 2014 (which was also Brady Hoke’s final season), Peppers emerged in 2015 as one of college football’s most exciting players to watch. This past season it became commonplace to have your jaw on the floor after watching him play.

He also helped make special teams a lot more fun to watch, and he finally got that punt return we had been expecting since the beginning.

He became the do-it-all player. He dominated games on the defensive side of the ball. He jumped over poor defenders almost as often as ran around them.

Jabrill Peppers became what we expected him to; he lived up to the hype.

That’s what Saturday night in New York City is about.

As Michigan finally starts living up to the expectations as a team, it’s only fitting that its players start doing the same again. Peppers has played 11 different positions this season, and it seems plausible that the coaching staff might find one more to add when the Wolverines play Florida State in the Oragne Bowl.

Some say he shouldn’t even be a Heisman finalist, and some say he should win it.

Whether he finishes first, third or fifth, Peppers being part of this Heisman Trophy celebration is about more than Michigan being represented in that conversation. It’s also about Michigan getting back, by way of players like Peppers, to being something reliably good.