Michigan Football: D.C. Don Brown Sees A Weapon In Jabrill Peppers
New Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown feels “the athleticism is there” on the defense he inherited – now it’s up to him to make the pieces fit. Linebacker is one that’s going to take some work, but he answered with an emphatic “no” when asked if he was concerned about the youth.
Part of that is because he has a unique weapon in redshirt sophomore Jabrill Peppers who can line up at a number of positions. On Tuesday it was SAM linebacker, where Peppers looked like a natural.
“I just think we’ve got to give this guy a bunch of jobs,” Brown said. “He’s a dynamic athlete, so we’ll keep him around the line of scrimmage and let him do a bunch of stuff whether it’s cover, whether it’s in certain personnel groups play linebacker-type stuff. Our SAM is kind of a hybrid. Last year’s SAM [at Boston College] had seven and a half sacks and 17 tackles for loss, and he’s out covering slots.
“Between [redshirt sophomore Noah] Furbush and him, I think we can put those two guys together and create some dynamic ability out of that position. That’s what you’re searching for.”
That, and ways to keep offenses guessing. Peppers can be used different ways in various personnel groups so quarterbacks can’t be sure what he’s going to do when he’s out there.
“That’s the beauty of it,” Brown said. “We had a package in today when he’s in technically as a linebacker. You may think you’re getting one alignment but we can do completely different stuff, because who said he has to be there playing that position? Today he was - two days he may not. That’s how we roll.
“He’s sharp. He’s fun to work with. He’s got juice. I like guys like that. It gest you excited going to work every day.”
Brown compared him to the Seattle Seahawks’ Kevin Pierre-Louis, a player he coached at Boston College, but said Peppers was even “a little different because he’s a little better at pass coverage and faster.
“We’ll see how that goes; see where it takes us,” he added.
The supporting cast, meanwhile, will include at least a freshman or two in the linebacker corps. True freshmen Devin Bush Jr. and Carlo Kemp have been working with the second group for the first two days of practice – they’ll be protected, Brown said.
“This is a system where I think it’s friendly to the linebackers,” he said. “It’s aggressive in nature, so they’ll do a lot of different stuff, but based on their learning curve, we’ll adjust to them … we lost five of six seniors, but I’m really excited about the guys I have.
“[Senior] Ben Gedeon has really just stepped up, Furbush is doing a good job. Peppers is doing a good job, and I’m really happy with [redshirt junior Mike] McCray. Probably for the first time in his career, he’s healthy. I’m liking what I’m seeing. That’s a good thing. There are a lot of young guys, and I’m certainly not going to single them out yet. It’s not fair – they’re learning. But I like my initial impressions of them running around athletically.”
He’ll like them more if they keep it up when the pads go on at the end of the week, he added, noting that’s when the men are separated from the boys.