NITRO EXPLOSION NEON HIGHLIGHT CHROMETACULAR

This week marks the start of high school All-American bowl practices, which are already under way and feature eight Michigan commits: Juwann Bushell-Beatty, Michael Ferns, Drake Harris, Bryan Mone, Jabrill Peppers, Wilton Speight, Jared Wangler (Under Armour, all on Team Nitro), and Mason Cole (Army, Team East). At the start of day two, we've already had some Michigan-on-Michigan crime:

Jabrill Peppers intercepts fellow Michigan commit Wilton Speight. #UAAllAmerica https://t.co/tFzPgIAQcU

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 30, 2013

And subsequent trash talk:

Peppers screamed, "That's all day next year, Wilt" after his interception.

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 30, 2013

Peppers, recently named the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year, stood out as one of the top performers in yesterday's opening practice session, per Rivals' Rob Cassidy ($):

The No. 2 player in the Rivals100 Presented by Under-Armour had never participated in a national-level event until now, so there was some intrigue surrounding his arrival in Florida.

So far, so good. Peppers was one of the top performers on Day 1. He was a nightmare in coverage and was beaten only once during one-on-one reps. He showed the speed to stay with smaller wide receivers and the strength to press larger ones. Peppers was aggressive without gambling and stood out like the country's No. 2 player should.

And today he received some lofty praise from former NFL head coach and standout defensive back Herm Edwards, especially when considering the spectacular performance of current Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves in the same game last year:

Herm Edwards told me in his three years coaching in the #UAALLAMERICA game, Jabrill Peppers is the best DB he's seen.

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 30, 2013

There will be much more coverage of both All-American games in the next two roundups; the UA game—which may be difficult to watch without protective eyewear—kicks off on Thursday at 4 pm on ESPN, while the Army game is set for Saturday at 1 pm on NBC. Maize n Brew has an informative primer for both games, and MGoUser MJ14 posted a nice roundup of first-day practice reactions from the UA game.

As for more Peppers stuff, because there's always more Peppers stuff, check out Sam Webb's DetNews feature and his senior highlight reel if you haven't already.

[Hit THE JUMP for the latest 2015 offer, updates on Malik McDowell, Cassius Peat, and Keisean Lucier-South, and more.]

Michigan Offers Christian Kirk, Plus 2015 Updates

The bowl trip to Arizona, well, could've gone a lot better; it did, however, provide the Wolverines a chance to offer 2015 Scottsdale (AZ) WR Christian Kirk, the #1 receiver and #32 overall prospect in the 247 Composite. Kirk told GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz that the offer was "a big one," and while he already holds an offer sheet filled with the nation's top programs—including a recent one from childhood favorite Oregon—he's looking to make his way to the Midwest for visits ($):

“I’m trying to get some dates for schools and once I get those I’ll finalize where I’m going,” Kirk said. “Definitely most of the California schools on the west coast, Stanford, UCLA, USC, definitely Oregon and then sometime this year I’ll get up to the Midwest too.

“I definitely want to go see multiple regions of the country.”

While Kirk wasn't able to make it to a Michigan bowl practice because of an illness, fellow Arizonan Cassius Peat, a four-star 2015 linebacker, took one in and told Bogenschutz that—despite not yet receiving an offer from them—"chances are really high" that Michigan will receive a visit from him ($).

Speaking of coveted juniors without a Wolverine offer, CA DE Keisean Lucier-South, who's expressed a lot of interest in Michigan, will get a visit from the coaches in January, per 247's Steve Lorenz ($). If the Wolverines offer—and unless the coaches think MN DE Jashon Cornell is in the bag, which is unlikely, that should happen eventually—they'll be among his top schools:

If the Wolverines offer, they will immediately move up his list, which includes offers from Texas, Tennessee, Washington, UCLA and USC among others.

"I wouldn't say they would be the favorite at this point, but it's still really early," he said. "I don't have any favorites. Michigan would be up there for sure though. Depending on how my spring goes, I would like to go to a spring practice. I may not be able to because of camps though. After that, I would take an official there too."

Lucier-South is a consensus top-50 overall prospect. Unless there are off-field concerns—and there's no sign that's the case—I don't see any reason why Michigan wouldn't put forth an offer.

At Least He Doesn't Announce In 2013...

Rivals and Scout each posted lists of the top uncommitted prospects in the Midwest for 2014. As one would expect, MI DL Malik McDowell features prominently in both posts. The good news: both expect him to end up in the Midwest, and Michigan is acknowledged as the longtime favorite. The bad news: the last two schools you'd want to see him choose are the two most likely to unseat the Wolverines. Scout's Allen Trieu ($):

The popular opinion has been Michigan for much of his recruitment, and the proximity and academics are in the Wolverines' favor and his parents have had nothing but positive things to say about their visits there. However, we believe that Malik ending up in a winged helmet is not the done deal many believe it is. Michigan State remains a strong contender for his services especially given the way the defense played this season. Ohio State, who has his final official visit is a darkhorse candidate to be the surprise team in the recruitment.

Rivals' Josh Helmholdt ($):

Michigan has been the favorite to land McDowell throughout much of his process, but watch for Ohio State as the Buckeyes will have him on campus just days before National Signing Day.

On top of that, neither expert even mentions Michigan when discussing four-star Glenville defensive backs Marshon Lattimore and Erick Smith, both of whom are presumed Ohio State locks.

Happy Trails

Two 2014 defensive backs once thought to be Michigan-bound have ended up elsewhere in the Big Ten. Four-star PA DB/WR Montae Nicholson chose Michigan State over Florida State, Oregon, Pitt, and Virginia Tech. Four-star IL DB Parrker Westphal picked Northwestern over Vanderbilt. Both players appeared to be destined for Ann Arbor until space got tight in the class and the coaches backed off their recruitments, a move that doesn't look great in retrospect now that Da'Shawn Hand is an Alabama commit and McDowell is by no means a certainty.