Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown discusses linebacker Jabrill Pepper's versatility on defense this year.

Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown could have gotten a different reaction from Jabrill Peppers. Brown was moving the 6-foot-1, 205-pound defensive back to linebacker, and the responses could have been confusion or rejection, indifference or defiance.

"He could have looked at me and said 'Are you nuts? I'm 205 pounds and I'm going to play linebacker? Get out of here,'" Brown said Wednesday morning. "Then what's the reaction from the entire group the rest of the way? It's a big deal. People don't realize how big a deal that is. He just went 'OK. Let's go.'"


As Michigan prepares for Friday's Orange Bowl against Florida State, Peppers has done much more than become a linebacker. He's embraced his role as the Wolverines' do-it-all player, returning punts and kickoffs while also starring as a running back and receiver on offense. His all-around game pushed him to fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Peppers, a junior, played 15 different positions this season, according to the school. He has 72 tackles (16 for loss) to go with four sacks and an interception on defense. On offense, Peppers has 167 rushing yards and three touchdowns along with two receptions.

Peppers returned one punt for a touchdown and ranks fourth nationally in punt return average with 14.8 yards per return. He was not made available to the media Wednesday.

"You name it, he's doing everything," defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow said. "Charismatic guy, he's like the heartbeat of our team. He can change a game like that. … On defense, he can stick people, electrifying hits, big massive runs. Him as a teammate and him as a leader, you don't get any better than that."

Peppers also won the Paul Hornung Award (most versatile college player) and the Lott IMPACT Trophy (best defensive player) while earning consensus All-American honors.

"Amazing," cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. "You can't really put it into words, especially when he does everything for you. Just the emotion that he brings to the game, too, his enthusiasm. You can see it every day. He's just a guy that you don't see too often."

Peppers' athleticism is the foundation for what he has been able to accomplish this season, but his linebacker Ben Gedeon said his practice habits set him apart.

"You take a guy who was a Heisman candidate, all this hype, that he wouldn't go out and practice the way he does, but every single day he practices like he's a walk-on freshman, so it's pretty impressive," Gedeon said. "Everything he does looks so effortless, though, so you can't really tell because he's such a smooth athlete.

"The way he goes about his business and the enthusiasm he has towards it is special."

Flanagan trio back home

Michigan linebackers Devin Bush and Devin Gil and safety Josh Metellus returned to South Florida this week for Friday night's Orange Bowl, less than a year after graduating from Flanagan High School.

Bush has played in 12 games this season, recording 11 tackles and a quarterback hurry. Metellus has nine tackles in seven games, including a sack. Gil has not played this year, primarily working with the scout team.

Brown praised the three players while talking with the media on Wednesday morning, even calling Metellus a "poor man's Jabrill Peppers."

"This Josh Metellus, we're really excited about him because he can play safety and he can kind of be the poor man's Jabrill Peppers, too," Brown said. "You got to get him a little bigger maybe, but we can do a lot of the things that we ask Jabrill to do. Like I said, I'm not saying he's Jabrill Peppers. I'm just saying he's the poor man's Jabrill Peppers. But we're excited about him."


Brown said Bush should start during spring practice, while Gil will challenge for a two-deep position.