Michigan Thursday: Are You a Pepper?

I rarely dedicate an entire post to a player Michigan is recruiting and hasn't committed to Wolverines yet.   Today, I change that policy for a "special" recruit in CB Jabrill Peppers from Paramus, New Jersey.

What do the Recruiting Services think of Jabrill?

Rivals:  #1 CB and #2 Player in the Nation
ESPN: #1 CB and #2 Player in the Nation
Scouts: #4 CB and #11 Player in the Nation
24/7:  #1 Athlete and #9 Player in the Nation

5 Star Player across the board

Jabrill is a 6'1 210 pound defensive back that every major program wants in their recruiting class.   He is ranked as a CB to all services accept 24/7 which see's him more as an Athlete or Safety.

Jabrill talks to the recruiting services often and every time he declares the Wolverines his leader with other schools like Stanford, Penn State and LSU.   

Why Michigan?

• Already visited Ann Arbor and loved it
• Current teammate JBB who is already committed to the Wolverines
• Ann Arbor is much closer to New Jersey then Stanford or LSU
• Greg Mattison is always a strong selling point
• Rutgers will be in Michigan's division when Jabrill arrives on campus, which means Michigan will be playing close to his home a couple times in 4 years.
• Anyone want to bet, they have offered him #2?
• Paramus Catholic is now calling themselves Team 45
• He just dropped Ohio State from his list

Timeline:

Jabrill has said that after his trip to Stanford in July he would know which school he would want to attend.   Lately, that trip to the West Coast has been shaky at best and hasn't been scheduled yet.

His coach told ESPN yesterday that he plans to move his timeline up to early June to put recruiting behind him, so he can focus on his senior year.   His next trip is to Penn State on May 18th, which is only 4 hours away from his hometown.  He visited PSU briefly in February and wants to go back for another look and stay the night.

Outlook for the Wolverines:

Michigan is in great shape for this highly ranked 5 star CB.   The quicker the decision happens the better it is for the Wolverines.   If he makes a decision in June or July, I think he will be Blue.  If the decision leaks into the season and he takes official visits, I think Michigan's pole position could be in jeopardy.

This could be huge recruit for the Wolverines and you could see a snowball effect from other top rated guys to the Wolverines, since this is such a small class.