Jabrill Peppers

High school career

A native of East Orange, New Jersey, Peppers originally attended Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, New Jersey. He started as a cornerback in his freshman year, before also taking over as a running back as a sophomore. Don Bosco won consecutive New Jersey state championships in 2010 and 2011, and was ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today in 2011.

Peppers left Don Bosco to attend Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey, where he led the Paladins to another state championship over Bergen Catholic in 2012. Peppers was named Player of the Year by MSG Varsity after his junior season with Paramus Catholic. Another successful senior season saw Peppers lead Paramus Catholic to another state title, defeating St. Peter's Prep., making Peppers a state championship winner in all four years of his high school career. Peppers was also selected to participate in the 2013–14 Under Armour All-America Game.

Also a talented track athlete, Peppers set the New Jersey Non-Public Class A outdoor 100-meter dash record with a time of 10.77 seconds. He has a personal best of 10.51 seconds in the 100 meters. In his senior year at Paramus Catholic, he won both the 100 and 200-meter dashes in New Jersey's 2013 Meet of Champions, becoming only the second person ever to do so, after Fabian Santiago of Oakcrest the year before.

Recruiting

Recruiting service Rivals.com identified Peppers as one of the five-star recruits in the Class of 2014, with ESPN ranking him as the #1 prospect in the 2014 class. On May 26, 2013, Peppers announced his verbal commitment to the Michigan Wolverines in a live telecast on ESPN. He was regarded as the head of Michigan's 2014 recruiting class. ESPN ranked him second in the class of 2014 behind only Leonard Fournette.

College career

As a true freshman at Michigan, Peppers appeared in three games, making one start. In his first career start against Appalachian State, he recorded two tackles and returned one punt for six yards. Because of an injury he sustained against Appalachian State, Peppers was redshirted for the remainder of his freshman season.

Following the 2015 season, Peppers was named the Big Ten Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year, and named to the All-Big Ten defensive first-team, by both the coaches and media, and the All-Big Ten special teams second-team by coaches. He was also named a Second-Team All-American by CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated. He was also named to the Freshman All-America Team by Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). He was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award. In 12 games, Peppers played a combined 986 snaps this season, with 50 coming on offense, 765 on defense, and 171 on special teams. On defense, he registered 45 total tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss, and 10 pass breakups. On special teams, he returned all 17 punts on the season for 194 yards, an average of 11.4 yards per return. Peppers has returned eight kickoffs for 223 yards, an average of 27.9 yards per return, on a unit that ranked second in the FBS with 28.41 yards per kick return. On offense, he added eight catches for 79 yards with 18 rushes for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Peppers has gained 568 all-purpose yards on the season, an average of 47.3 yards per game, ranking fifth on the team.

Following an outstanding performance on September 17, 2016, against Colorado, Peppers was named the Walter Camp FBS Player of the Week, Co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and Special Teams Player of the Week. He became the first conference player to be named both Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week in the same week since the special teams honor was added in 1994. Peppers recorded a career-best nine tackles, including six solo stops and 3.5 tackles-for-loss. He also recorded 204 yards of total offense, including his first career punt return for a touchdown.

Following the 2016 season, Peppers was named the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year, Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year and the Rodgers-White Return Specialist of the Year, and a Unanimous All-American. He became the first player in Big Ten history to collect three individual honors since the conference expanded its individual award recognition program in 2011. Peppers was also named to the All-Big Ten defensive first-team, and All-Big Ten special teams first-team by both the coaches and media. Peppers helped lead a unit that finished first in eight Big Ten defensive categories. He contributed a career-best 72 tackles, 16 tackles-for-loss, four sacks, one interception and one forced fumble. He also contributed in special teams, posting 21 punt returns for 310 yards (14.8 avg.) and one touchdown and had 10 kickoff returns for 260 yards (26.0 avg.). He also contributed on the offensive side of the ball, rushing 27 times for 167 yards and three touchdowns while catching two passes. He was also awarded the Paul Hornung Award, honoring the nation's most versatile college football player, and the Lott Trophy. Peppers played 933 snaps during the 2016 campaign, logging 726 plays on defense, 53 plays on offense, and 154 snaps on special teams. Peppers has seen the field at 15 different positions during the season. He finished fifth in voting for the 2016 Heisman Trophy.

On January 10, 2017, Peppers announced that he would be entering the 2017 NFL Draft, foregoing his final two seasons of NCAA eligibility.

Professional career

Peppers received an invitation to the NFL Combine and attended as a linebacker, as well as a defensive back. He ran all combine and positional drills, except for the short shuttle and three-cone drill. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash among all of the linebackers. He participated in only positional drills at Michigan's Pro Day. NFL draft experts and analysts projected Peppers to be selected in the first or second round. He was ranked the third best safety in the draft by Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Focus, ESPN, NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and NFL analyst Bucky Brooks. On April 25, 2017, only two days before the draft, it was reported that Peppers received a positive test for a drug screen that was given at the combine. The positive test was in fact a diluted sample and further reports revealed that Peppers drinking ample amounts of water due to being environmentally ill before traveling for the combine.

The Cleveland Browns selected Peppers in the first round (25th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. Peppers signed a contract with the Browns on July 22, giving him a $5.6 million signing bonus and four-year salary worth $4.7 million.

Endorsements

On March 6, 2017, it was reported that Peppers had signed a multi-year contract with Adidas football.

Personal life

Peppers was raised in East Orange, New Jersey by his mother, Ivory Bryant. His father, Terry Peppers, was active in his life until he was arrested when Jabrill was seven. He was arrested after being charged in a racketeering case as a part of the bloods street gang and was released from prison in 2014. His older brother, Don Curtis, died in January 2010, after being shot while standing at the counter of Lucky Joy Restaurant in Newark, New Jersey. Peppers maintained a 3.8 GPA through high school and is an avid rapper. He has stated that he has always had an invested interest in Michigan's football program and is a fan of Charles Woodson. He has cultivated a relationship with Woodson throughout his time at Michigan.