Top 2014 CB Target -- Jabrill Peppers (Paramus Catholic, NJ)
Great story on Jabrill Peppers -- 2014 CB Target from Paramus Catholic, NJ who is listed at 6'0", 205 lbs and currently plays CB, RB and WR w/ offers from 50 Div 1 schools, including Alabama, Ohio, Florida, ND and Michigan.
Jabrill survived and thrived through significant adversity, including the incarceration of his father, Terry Peppers, and the murder of his half-brother, Don Curtis.
Through it all, Jabrill managed to maintain a phone relationship with his father and they are both looking forward to his father's parole next June. Terry deeply wants to remain involved in Jabrill's life and supports him to the best of his abilities.
"Terry works five days a week at the prison unloading and loading office furniture, earning about $180 a month. He sends the money to Jabrill." [NJ.COM]
Jabrill sounds like a great person, terrific talent and a mature individual who understands that life's ups and downs come fast and furiously. Hopefully, we will see Terry attend games at the Big House cheering on his son, Michigan's future star CB.
[http://www.nj.com/hssports/blog/football/index.ssf/2012/10/paramus_catholics_jabrill_peppers.html]
October 12th, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^
Wait, isn't his dad in jail? How can he attend games at the Big House? Unless, by Big House, you are referring to prison.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:36 AM ^
Yay for not reading the original post.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:36 AM ^
He's eligible for parole next June, so he could have a chance to watch every game of his college career. It's easy to judge a man for landing in prison but the elder Peppers seems like he's done a good job of realizing his own faults and raising his son to be different. Can't be easy to be such an important influence over the phone. Good luck to Jabrill.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
He's likely to be paroled soon. Working hard at the prison to show reform and dedication to professionalism. Nobody is ever beyond reform.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:46 AM ^
Actually, based on his statements at a recent sentencing I think a certain former Penn State defensive coordinator may be beyond reform.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:47 AM ^
Bolivia changed me. I just cant seem to keep myself from going back.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^
What happened to you, Fu?
October 12th, 2012 at 2:30 PM ^
f'ing Williams
October 12th, 2012 at 4:13 PM ^
If you don't know what your talking about just don't say anything at all.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:46 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 12:25 PM ^
A 3.9 GPA and he wants to be an orthopedic surgeon too?! I think we can help him with that at Michigan. But regardless of where he goes (hopefully not Ohio), I'll be rooting for him.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^
dad's were both in prison while the kids were in college. I think Peterson's dad was released and in the stands in time for Adrian's last game at OU.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
What do our chances with Peppers look like at this point?
October 12th, 2012 at 12:57 PM ^
Third behind Stanford and USCw. Perhaps the distance factor plays into it at the end, I hope.
October 12th, 2012 at 2:04 PM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 2:08 PM ^
Flights from NJ to California are more frequent and often less money than to Detroit.
October 12th, 2012 at 2:37 PM ^
The NYC region has no true hometown college football team. For those who want to stay local, Rutgers, Penn State or Temple would be likely options. Most kids from the NYC region have a strong private college bias, i.e., private schools are seen as more selective and expensive (which are seen as good attributes). Therefore, the strong academic choices are the Ivies, Stanford and Duke (amongst others). While Michigan is indeed a "brand name" school, there is a (undeserved) bias against state schools amongst elite NYC region h.s. students (even amongst students choosing based solely on athletic programs).
Thus, I would tend to downplay the importance of "distance" for any NYC region student. To be honest, for most kids growing up in NYC, America consists of the East Coast, California and everything in between. They have no concept of where or what Michigan is vs. where or what Montana is.
Further, Jabrill is from East Orange, which is a lower income area located just outside Newark. Indeed, while there are affluent suburbs (w/ homes in the millions) nearby and an international airport within 15 minutes drive, it is safe to assume that most of the residents of East Orange do not have much experience venturing further than NJ/NY/PA.
While this is a broad statement, I would argue that NYC region students/prospects choose based upon academic/athletic prestige and the direction of the school/program. Therefore, Michigan has a very good chance with Jabrill.
October 12th, 2012 at 3:39 PM ^
I remember him from the New Yorker piece about Don Boscoe. That is an intense program but their kids seem to be very disciplined. Peppers is much better regarded than the last CB we recruited from there (Yuri Wright...cough...cough).
October 12th, 2012 at 5:22 PM ^
After reading Ben McGrath's terrific profile of the Don Bosco program in The New Yorker, leaving Don Bosco seemed to me a bit like leaving the Miami Heat to join the Cavaliers. (Actually, that's not fair, because Paramus Catholic is a solid program along with Bergen Catholic.) But Don Bosco had become the Alabama of east coast football. Maybe it will be a good thing for us, if Jabrill Peppers has been turned off to "the Alabama of" anything.
I'd post that article link, but it remains subscriber-only content at NewYorker.com
Here is the link to the picture gallery; the first photo is a (Sophomore?) Jabrill Peppers, #18 -- even at that time regarded as a star among stars on the entire east coast.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2011/12/don-bosco-prep.html
Edit. - btw, Don Bosco plays Jabrill Peppers' Paramus Catholic Paladins tonight, 10/12 at 7pm. That's a game I'd watch on national high school football cable tv...
October 12th, 2012 at 11:49 PM ^
in the world is there so much office furniture in a prison that someone needs to load and unload it everyday, all day?!