Category: Football

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Peppers is ready for the NFL, but will he go?

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Jabrill Peppers is without question ready to start collecting checks on Sunday. In most mocks drafts, he is projected to be a top 10 pick at the safety position in the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft. However, don’t be surprised if he decides not to declare after this season.

After having nagging injuries and being limited to playing only 2 ½ games his freshman year, Peppers was redshirted and sat out the remainder of the 2014 season.  The sophomore technically still has two more years of eligibility left to play at Michigan. The big question is, will Peppers forgo his two years and declare for the draft or will he return to the Wolverines?

After displaying his versatility all year playing multiple positions, it seems like a no brainer that he is for sure going to the NFL. Even the Big Ten took notice of some of his accomplishments as he took home some hardware as he was awarded the Nagurski-Woodson defensive player of the year, the Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the year and the Butkus-Fitzgerald linebacker of the year award. That makes him the first player to win three individual awards in the same season since the awards program expanded in 2011. He would finish the regular season on offense with 3 rushing touchdowns, 751 total yards and 1 punt return for a touchdown. On defense, he recorded 71 total tackles, 48 solo, 15 TFL, 4 sacks, 1 FF and 1 interception that would be his first of his career. That interception would come in the 3rd quarter against Ohio State.

We all knew that losing to Iowa had a slight possibility to end up hurting us at the end of the season. But we also knew that if we had beaten Ohio State it was almost certain that we would clinch a playoff berth. After losing to the Buckeyes 30-27 in double-OT, there was still hope. We had to rely too much on the what ifs and had to cheer for the underdogs in Colorado and Virginia Tech. Peppers was very quick to react after it was officially announce that the Wolverines were on the outside looking in.

While acknowledging their loss and failures he also threw some love back to PSU for getting the job that they couldn’t do. Beat Ohio St. and win the Big Ten Championship.

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Like majority of his life, it looks like Peppers has turned to his mother once more for some guidance.  Earlier this week, per Darren Heitner who is a sports attorney tweeted that Peppers’ mother, Ivory Bryant had delivered a forty-one-question document to all prospective NFL agents.

Now this doesn’t necessarily say that it’s a sure thing that we will make the jump. The way I look at it, is that his mother wants the very best for his future and wants to help explore the options and eliminate any difficulty that her son might be having in front of him. So! Will Jabrill Peppers return to Michigan for one more year? I think so. Should he? Yes. Those answers are not just me being a biased fan and no I do not have any high-end sources telling me this. It’s just what I truly believe.

At the age of 7, Jabrills’ father Terry, the same person that introduced him to the game, was arrested on a weapons charge.

“My father was arrested when I was seven years old. In that split second when he was taken away, I went from having a father who I could work out with and who was on the sideline for all my football games, to being a kid searching for a male role model in his life. And I didn’t know how long he was going to be gone.”

He said in an entry he posted on The Players’ Tribune titled The Game. It’s a must read.

Without a father figure, he had turned to his older brother, Don.

“Don was the guy I looked up to. And even though he was out in the streets like most of the other guys in our neighborhood, doing things he wasn’t supposed to be doing, he would never let me get involved. He kept me on the right path from a young age. And he was one of the first people who told me I had the potential to be something great — that I needed to chase my football dream. “You have a God-given gift,” he’d say. It would be disrespectful to God to not make the most of that gift.”

Like a lot of kids in urban neighborhoods, we dreamed a lot about the future, of better times. Many kids were so caught up in the street life that they couldn’t dream past the city limits. But Don and I talked differently, mostly because of my potential on the football field. That was going to be my way out — our way out.”

In January of 2010, for the second time in Jabrills’ life another father figure was taken from him too soon, when Don was shot and killed. Bryant was left alone to raise her son despite working long hours as a social worker to support her son. Just before his senior year of high school his father Terry was released from prison after serving nearly 11 years.

“We was just trying to get to know each other again,” Peppers said. “A lot of time had passed. Ten and a half years, almost 11 years. At the end of the day, man, that’s my pops. We’re still working on our relationship. It’s going to get better. We’ve still got to make up for that 10 and a half years, but we’re gonna be all right.”

After losing his brother, Peppers never had a type of “brother hood” like he did Don until he came to Michigan. Not just the family and brothers he goes to war with every Saturday but his brothers of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. During the 78-0 rout of Rutgers, Peppers returned a punt for a touchdown that would eventually get called back. After Peppers ran into the end zone he would put up his arms as some may know as “throwing the hooks”.

For those who don’t know, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity (OPPF) is the first international fraternal organization founded at a historically black college. The fraternity was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C on Nov. 23, 1911. Before joining the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity last spring, Peppers wasn’t recruited. He actually reached out to fraternity.

“He sought us out,” says Terence Browner, a Michigan senior and member of the fraternity. “The more he learned about it, the more he felt the connection, the vibe. I could sense the excitement oozing off of him. He wanted to be a part of something.”

He wanted to surround himself with people who reflect him and who he wants to be. Peppers found others that are like him that enjoy community service and giving back. While only being engaged with the fraternity for such a short time, Peppers’ and a few of his friends went across town to Community High School in Ann Arbor and spoke to about 200 students about habits, time management and the transition from high school to college.

“He literally had an individual conversation with every single person who approached him,” says Brandon Jackson, a friend of Peppers who teaches world history at the high school. “I mean, we’re talking about 200 people. He asked every one of them something about themselves and answered more questions if they had them.

“Every kid that day walked away feeling good about themselves, feeling uplifted.”

Not only is Jabrill Peppers the most versatile player in the nation on the field but his play is very similar off the field. Playing for Michigan has been his dream since he was a little kid. So why stop now? Why not one more year? Just imagine the impact that he could do in that time. Not only for UofM but the state of Michigan itself. His talent level is ready for the NFL and his maturity is way above a lot of players at his age. There is a few wrinkles that I had noticed in the last three games that certainly can be fixed at the college level.

Whether he decides to go now or next year his mother is definitely getting the home that she deserves for raising such a humble and gifted young man. If push comes to shove and he decides to go he might want to start shopping around for a bigger trophy case as earlier today he was announced  as one of the top 5  finalist for the Heisman Trophy. His reaction says it all.

Hopefully Peppers recalls what he wrote and rethinks the order of his goals.

“I’m on a mission. And that mission won’t be complete until … I don’t even know when. I guess I have a lot of missions. It’s always changing. That’s how you continue to grow and get better. You set goals that seem impossible, and when you reach them, you set more impossible goals and do whatever humanly possible to reach those, too. I want to win a national championship at Michigan. I want to graduate. I want to go to the NFL and have a long, successful career.”

Make sure you write it down on your calendars as Michigan vs. Florida State in Orange Bowl on Friday, December 30th at 8:00pm as we just may witness Peppers play his very last game.

“Those who stay will be champions”

Hail.. Go Blue!

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Jim Harbaugh is Crazy– Like a Fox

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Referees Always Get the Last Laugh

CRAZY LIKE (OR AS) A FOX – “…seemingly foolish but in fact extremely cunning.” From “Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume 1.

In the aftermath of Michigan’s disappointing double overtime loss to arch rival Ohio State, Jim Harbaugh went off.

Harbaugh’s post game press conference was a master class is deflecting attention from his team’s failure secure a bid to the Big Ten Championship game and capture a place in the college football playoffs.

“I am bitterly disappointed with the officiating today,” said Harbaugh to a packed room of media.

The story out of Columbus was all about Harbaugh’s sideline theatrics and condemnation of the officials who penalized Michigan 7 times for a total of 59 yards while the Ohio State was rung up twice for a total of 6 yards.

Lost in the mix was quarterback Wilton Speight’s three turnovers which included a pick 6 to get the Buckeyes on the scoreboard after being smothered by the Michigan defense.

Nobody asked about Jourdan Lewis’ dangerous return as regulation time expired when he inexplicably cut back into a Buckeye defender instead of streaking for the sideline and possible game winning touchdown.

Harbaugh dismissed a question about what he didn’t go for two points and a win in the first overtime period.

His quarterback clearly wanted to go for the win before Harbaugh quashed the idea.

Harbaugh’s quick dismissal is puzzling– just a few weeks ago he was touting Speight as a possible Heisman candidate and gushed about he consulted with his quarterback on play calling.

Harbaugh hates hypothetical questions from the media so we’ll stick to the facts– with the game and the season on the line, Harbaugh took the ball out of Speight’s hands and kicked the extra point to extend the game ignoring conventional wisdom that visiting teams should go for the win.

With such a short field, Speight’s murky injury would not have limited Harbaugh’s play selection. Even if Harbaugh was concerned about Speight, he had other options. Michigan had been using Jabrill Peppers in a wildcat formation with varying degrees of success all season. Peppers had been hinting of special plays being held in reserve for just such an occasion. Harbaugh could have put Peppers at wideout as a distraction during the play. Tight end Jake Butt, an especially dangerous short yardage weapon, was also available.

Speight was diplomatic in his comments about his desire to go for the two point conversion.

When Harbaugh was a player he would have fumed at such a decision.

Instead rolling the dice with his offense, Harbaugh put his defense back on the field in overtime after it had been on the field for the practically the entire 4th quarter (11:07).

Nobody is asking why Michigan seems to struggle on the road under Harbaugh, continuing a trend that preceded his tenure.

Michigan is 6-3 on the road during the regular season under Harbaugh. Which appears to be a decent performance except that two of those wins from last season included near disasters against Indiana (6-7) 48-41 in double overtime and Minnesota (6-7) 29-26 with Gophers falling short on the last play of the game.

This season Michigan fell short of the college football playoffs not because of the loss to Ohio State but because it failed to beat a pedestrian Iowa team (8-4) a few weeks before– an Iowa team that lost earlier in the season to North Dakota State, 23-21.

Whine about the referees if you want but Michigan had chances to beat Ohio State during both regulation and overtime.

Harbaugh will need to coach better especially on the road for Michigan to compete for a national championship.

The results so far are discouraging.

Bad referees are occasionally part of the game. It easy to coach when you’re beating opponents 63-3, 59-3 or 78-0. A great coach distinguishes himself when the odds are stacked against him.

Michigan deserved better this season.

And it starts and ends with Coach Harbaugh– not the referees.

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M FOOTBALL 2016: NO MAGIC FOR WOLVERINES IN 2ND OVERTIME LOSS TO BUCKEYES 30-27.

2016-ohiostate-09Michigan entered Ohio’s Horseshoe Saturday as a slight underdog. They were determined to halt the Buckeyes progress toward another appearance in the Big Ten East Division Championship game, and to enable an appearance of their own.  As we all know by now, that agenda that will have to be visited again next year to be conquered by the Wolverines.

Both the Buckeyes and Wolverines entered the game sporting equivalent Big Ten Records, both had lost but a single Big Ten game for the season, and they had both lost no other game. Both had their sights set on prevailing in what portended to be a close game with the ability to run and stop the run as the key to victory, and that was the way it turned out. M rushed for 91-yards and the Bucks for 206.  D. Smith was the leading M rusher, bulling for only 60 net yards on 21 carries for a 2.9-yard average and a long of 16. The OL was not consistent. Again, it could not move the chains in crunch time in regulation to protect a lead. The OL was not at its best in this game.

It was as memorable a game as any in the memorable series between Bo and Woody that was called the “The Ten Year War”, except their first one.  That Bo victory stands out over all others.  Some called it “The Game”, and in 2006 the series was designated by ESPN as the “Greatest North American Sports Rivalry”. Today’s knuckle fest did not defile that caption.

In this year’s meeting, the Buckeyes featured one of the most talented QBs in the Big Ten, JT Barrett. Michigan featured a recovering from injury Wilton Spieght.  Speight was day to day pregame, and was at the throttle for the first snap.  He did not play poorly, nor did he seem hurt, but unfortunately, he was not mistake free either. Speight threw a pair of critical interceptions and fumbled.  Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett made fewer mistakes, and had a better day rushing, but poorer passing.  He gained 124-net yards rushing on thirty carries, with one run for a TD.  He was intercepted once (by Peppers).

Wilton threw for 219-yards on 23 completions, but did not contribute significant yardage rushing, and of course the errors changed the game.  This is not to say that the loss was is all Wilton’s fault.  The OL demonstrated a lack of protection, could not move the ball in crunch time.  Wilton has the makings of a steady contributor as he gets better and better, a bright future. As always, this was a team defeat.

Michigan had the multi-positional Jabril Peppers playing defense and sometimes offense, and again excelling on special teams. Ohio State featured the multi position offensive threat, H Back Curtis Samuels. Samuels scored the winning overtime TD on a 15-yard run.

The two teams seemed remarkably similar.  TOSU was named the Number Two team in the country. Michigan was denominated the number three or four team in the country.  Only once before in the long history of “The Game” had they met with such lofty ratings or better.  In that one the Bucks prevailed and Saturday the Bucks prevailed again.

THE GAME IS AN ANNUAL HABIT: The Wolverines versus the Buckeyes is an annual habit established in 1918, but its long history started in 1897.  It provided some little solace to Wolverine fans, that their Wolverines had established only a 27-26-2 record in Columbus. More  that their over-all record against the Bucks was 58-48-6. Saturday was the combatant’s 113th meeting.

Fans knew this one would be a “slobberknocker” (a Harbaugh bon mot describing contested, and hard hitting football), and Saturday’s game was just that.

SOME M PROBLEMS SATURDAY: Among the Wolverine’s trouble’s Saturday, were problems protecting the football on offense-a Speight fumble at the OSU two was recovered by the Buckeyes. Wilton threw 2 harmful interceptions.  After the game, he said one was because his arm was hit. He was under a lot of defensive pressure at all times.

There were stupid penalties. A face mask by Cole ruined a drive. Harbaugh assisted OSU when he drew a 15-yarder for tossing a paper after a series of happenings, especially the call on the prior play, perplexed him. He tossed what I presume to be a play sheet well onto the field, and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, half the distance.  This helped enable the Buckeyes second regulation TD when M was leading 17-7. TOSU did not need the help of a shortened field, and took full advantage. That TD was big, a turning point.

I do not mean to chide Coach Harbaugh, although he should remain poised. He was fuming regarding the prior play, the call on Hurst, and it seemed to me to be a poor call.  His rage was understandable.  The tossing of the play sheet, if that is what it was he tossed, was not so much.

THE GAME WAS BOTH UNIQUELY AND ALMOST EQUALLY IMPORTANT TO BOTH TEAMS THIS SEASON.: The primary reason was that both teams were avidly pursuing the same Big Ten Championship role, plus earning a passport to the further football glories available by capturing eligibility for a spot in the four team college football playoff.  Each desperately needed a victory to continue to live those dreams of a crack at the Big Ten East representative spot in the Big Ten Championship game, and later a crack at a national championship play-off game.  While OSU shared the goals above, their situation was unique in that OSU lost to PSU earlier in the season.  PSU beat MSU so they may be the East Division Champion.  Michigan, while they could not take advantage of it, could have controled their own fate with a victory.  That is now gone with the wind.

There was only one other time in the long history of the storied rivalry when they both have been ranked in the top three.  That was in 2006 when the Buckeyes nipped the Wolverines at home. There have been numerous occasions when an undefeated season was pending and lost, as one side or the other bestowed a loss on the undefeated.  Though very satisfying if your team won, they did not approach Saturday’s game in importance.

You can roll out all the clichés that you can think of for this one.  It was for all the marbles-the whole enchilada-a shot at the Big Ten Title- a shot to be in the mix for a crack at the national championship-a chance to turn the rivalry tide.  Cliché or not all were true.

MICHIGAN HAD A LITTLE MORE AT STAKE: Also at stake was the fact that a win was an important to remedy M’s four game (now five game) losing streak to those below the border.  The Buckeyes have now won eleven of the last twelve.  A continuation of this was unacceptable to the Michigan contingent, but is the stern reality.

In the spring, fall, and since, fans thought that in order to have a successful season, the Wolverines had to beat both MSU and TOSU.  It was thought they couldn’t afford to leave the job half done.  It is now time to reevaluate and adjust to the facts. Maybe the  good thing is, we will not now have to wonder if we can spank the Badgers twice.

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS SOMETIMES SEALS CHAMPIONSHIPS AND PAVES THE WAY FOR SUCCESSFUL HEISMAN TROPHIES SEEKERS: You don’t have to look back too far in Michigan Football lore to remember M WR Desmond Howard streaking 93-yards to six for a game capping and winning score to down the Buckeyes in 1991. He famously struck a Heisman pose in the end zone after striking a blow to the Bucks, and at the same time sealing a win. He obviously struck a chord with the Heisman Committee as he won the award.

In 1997, DB Charles Woodson provided a similar 77-yard return to cap a whipping of the Buckeyes. He also won the Heisman, and obtained a shared of the national title in a later Rose Bowl victory, as the Wolverines were undefeated.

Both the Wolverine’s need and the big stage were there for Jabril Peppers Saturday.  He played an extraordinary defensive game, and had a needed and timely 44-yard KO return, but the super play to elevate his Heisman chances was not there.  His offensive chances were limited in productivity.  I thought we might see him throw or grab a pass.

Personal accolades certainly weren’t on Pepper’s mind Saturday, but this probably was his last appearance on the biggest regular season Michigan Football stage. He is sure to be wearing different colors in a different football league at the next level next year, so I believe this was his last chance against the Buckeyes.

Kenny Allen won accolades for special teams Saturday.  He kicked the ball out of the end zone routinely, and hit a pair of FGs. He routinely provided the field positon needed to stymie the Bucks for much of regulation by landing four of seven punts within the Ohio twenty. Fortunately the OSU kicker missed two FGs. which if made, would have prevented, overtime.

THE WOLVERINES v THE BUCKNUTS 2016:  TOSU deferred and M received.  In the first quarter, the Wolverines could move the football but not into any zone named red or end.   They punted twice, but had the ball to end the quarter, and continued a drive into the second quarter.

The Bucks had a 10 play 72-yard drive, but stalled in the 1st quarter, but missed a 37-yard FG.

It seemed the two heavyweights were sparring all quarter without landing punches- scoring punches that is. There was no score in the first.

Early in the second Kenny Allen polished off a 12 play, 53-yard drive by making a 28-yard FG.  M led 3 to zip.

Although 3-zip was an obviously fragile lead, at least the Wolverines were on the board first.

Both teams traded punts, but neither scored in the second quarter until Speight threw an interception that was returned by the Bucks 16-yards for six at around the 4 minute mark of the quarter.

Speight quickly recovered from his miscue, and engineered an 11-play 66-yard TD drive.  Kahlid Hill scored from two out on the Wolverine’s third attempt for short, and the Wolverines had a 10-7 lead at the half.  Several passes to Darboh breathed life into the offense, the long being of 9-yards.  The offense seemed to have come to life. The Wolverines scored with 6 seconds left in the half, and thus held a 10-7 lead at the break.

The defense had played an admirable 1st half, pitching a shutout, and limiting the Bucks to nine yards after their opening drive.

The third quarter started with both teams offensively stalling. As so often has happened this season Jabrill Pepper got them jump started one way of another, this time with his first career interception.  His return of 11-yards took it to the OSU 42. M got to the 1, but  Speight, under center, then fumbled the center exchange. The Bucks recovered.

The Bucks then returned the favor when they tried a fake punt.

M defender Jordan Glasgow nailed the punter short of the first down at the OSU 22.  This five play M scoring drive ended with an eight yard  side line pass to Armara Darboh for a significant first down, and a couple of plays later  Kahlid Hill snagged another 8-yarder for the TD.  It was M-17 and OSU-7.  The Bucks had not yet scored an offensive TD, and things were looking hopeful.

Speight’s second interception at the M 35 reversed the momentum. The Wolverines assisted the Buckeyes with an offside penalty.  Immediately afterward, Harbaugh went over the top in demonstrating against the call on Hurst.  It was a suspect foul, looked like a bad call, looked like Hurst was enticed, but coach was called for an unsportsmanlike at a critical time. That resulted in half the distance to the goal to put the ball at the Michigan 4.  After two rushes, the score was M-17, OSU-14.

It was too close for comfort in the fourth.  But the Wolverine’s kept clawing and a long OSU drive turned into another missed FG.  M had stopped the Bucks at the two.  The FG miss was for 21-yards.

Then came an offensive malaise the M Football team has seen too often this season.  With a win at stake they again could not get a first down, couldn’t move the chains at all in regulation crunch time.

The Bucks moved 77-yards and produced a 23-yard FG to tie it at 17.  I was chagrined that the defese could not stop this drive with so much at stake. It was into overtime.

THE FIRST OT:  OSU made quick work of obtaining their first overtime TD.  Curtis and Barrett ran it in’ using just two plays for Barrett to score.  M-17, OSU-24.

M answered with a series of short Smith runs and a crossing pattern to Darboh for the 5-yard score and it was tied again at 24-24.

THE SECOND OT: M got the ball back again and got it to the Ohio 19.  A slant pattern to Grant Perry was incomplete.  Seemed to me he was interfered with, but no call. Kenny Allen produced 3 points on a 37-yard FG. M-20, OSU-24.

On last play of their 5-play drive, OSU’s Samuel Curtis ended any suspense by rushing 15-yards for the winning score. Whether or not a Barrett run managed a fourth down first down conversion during that drive was at issue.  The call on the field was first down, and as usual it was sustained as that in review.  Had the Bucks been stopped there, the game would have been a Wolverine victory.  A good call? Not from what I see in the video.  I don’t believe he made it.

OSU had the necessary, winning OT TD.  Game over. M-27, OSU-30.

SOME TAKE AWAY: The Wolverine’s will watch the play-off picture, and hope to be included, even though it does not seem likely. Obviously they no longer control their own fate.  MSU beat Penn State, so OSU’s chance of being nominated is not likely, since Penn State beat OSU this season and so owns the tiebreaker.

This loss will really be felt by this team, even more so than with the fans.  We and they will have recovery time. It will be December before which Bowl game chooses the Wolverines is made known.

The Wolverines completed the regular season with a limp, with many of their professed dreams unfulfilled. Now the focus must be on producing an 12-2 season and nothing less.

The team and its fans have had very few losses over the past two years, but this one stings, and will for a while.

Let’s take in the Bowl game, and be solaced that this is a rising program, and will continue to be a rising program. We will often have the Wolverine’s in the hunt.

Go Blue!

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Michigan vs Ohio State Football – Looking Back – 1922

The fifth and final installment of this year’s series looking back at the Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry takes us to 1922, during the “Roaring 20s.” Wall Street was flying high, and excess was in style. Prohibition was in place, so it was illegal to consume alcoholic beverages, but many Americans went to “speakeasies,” clubs that served alcohol “on the down low,” so to speak. In sports, Ohio State opened its new football stadium, and Michigan was the opponent for the dedication game.

Michigan’s football team was outstanding in 1922, winning six games and tying one, a scoreless game at Vanderbilt. The following week, Michigan shut out Ohio State 19-0, the first of five consecutive victories for Michigan. The Wolverines scored in each quarter, with future coach Harry Kipke and team captain Paul Goebel.

So after all that, Michigan won the Big Ten Championship, right? Well, that’s where things get a bit murky. Michigan finished 4-0 in the conference, but Iowa was 5-0 in the conference (and 7-0 overall). After the season, Michigan coach Fielding Yost announced that Michigan would not make any claim of sole possession of the conference championship. He also announced that he would return the following season to coach the Wolverines, just several months after rumors circulated that he would step down at the conclusion of the 1922 season.

At the end of the day, Michigan had won the dedication game at Ohio Stadium in front of a crowd that included many Michigan supporters. On a more somber note, Michigan’s All-American left end, Bernard Kirk, was injured in an automobile accident several weeks after the end of the season, and died a week later.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any video clips of this game, so I’ve attached this summary of the 1922 Michigan football season from the Bentley Library, to whom I extend many thanks. Again, I own nothing and I do not profit from this article in any way. It is strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1922fbt.htm