ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Jabrill Peppers pressed a phone against his right cheek, head bowed, and swayed from side to side.He picked his head up when he heard unexpected news.Wow. Hey, he said, tilting his head back with a huge smile upon finding out he was a Heisman Trophy finalist. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!The do-it-all, three-way dynamo had quite a year for No. 6 Michigan, and the team says he played 15 positions across offense, defense and special teams.But the nations most versatile star wasnt necessarily projected to be among the final five players up for the Heisman.I was in shock when I got that call, Peppers told The Associated Press. Im still in shock. Its surreal. When youre a child, you set goals and you work hard for things like this.The East Orange, New Jersey, native had to work harder than most. He was 7 when his father, Terry Peppers, went to jail and was 14 when his older brother and role model, Don Curtis, was shot and killed.Ivory Bryant , his mother, made sure sports ranked second behind school.His mother will join him at the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Saturday night in New York. He wasnt planning on inviting his father.With my dad, our relationship is still growing, Peppers said. Hes trying to get back on his feet.Peppers is a star who contributed this season in three facets of the game . In the rare moments he wasnt on the field, he was standing near coach Jim Harbaugh on the sideline, ready to roll when his name was called.Peppers won the Hornung Award as the nations most versatile college football player. On defense, the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder usually lined up as a linebacker after spending most of the previous two years as a defensive back.Michigans Charles Woodson is the only player to win the Heisman while primarily playing defense -- though, like Peppers, Woodson also played on offense and special teams.Its rare that defensive players are even among the Heisman finalists. Since 1986, the list includes just Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth, Washington defensive lineman Steve Emtman, Miami Hurricanes defensive tackle Warren Sapp, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Teo.It means a lot to be a part of that group, Peppers said. I didnt finish the season as well as I thought and hoped I would, and there were a lot of guys that could have been finalists ahead of me.Many expect Peppers to skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft, though hes declined to talk about it because he doesnt want to distract from Michigans preparation for the Orange Bowl against No. 10 Florida State on Dec. 30.We have one more game to play and thats where my focus is, he said. I absolutely want to end the season on a good note and get the sour taste out of my mouth.The Wolverines closed the regular season with two losses in three games, including a stinging setback as a third-ranked team to second-ranked Ohio State, 30-27 in two overtimes. The Buckeyes beat their rival in part because they didnt let Peppers make any game-breaking plays on offense or special teams.Peppers did have seven tackles and intercepted a pass, but he had just four yards rushing on four carries. On special teams, he returned one kickoff for 44 yards and a punt for 5 yards.Harbaugh, though, wouldnt trade him for any player in college football.Hes an amazing player that does everything that anybody asks, any of the coaches or teammates ask him to do, Harbaugh said. Whether its play safety or corner or nickel or linebacker or quarterback or slot receiver or running back, punt returner, kick returner, he does it all and without hesitation, without flinching. He does it to the best of his God-given ability every time.---HEISMAN-DEFINING MOMENT: Like Woodson, Peppers returned a punt for a touchdown into the south end zone in Michigan Stadium for his signature play of the season. Peppers showed his speed, strength and agility on the 54-yard score in the fourth quarter that helped the Wolverines pull away to beat Colorado 45-28.BEST GAME: Peppers scored on a punt return, had a season-long, 55-yard kickoff, a 17-yard run and nine tackles, including a sack, against the Buffaloes, who are No. 11 going into the postseason.WORST GAME: In a loss 14-13 loss at Iowa, the Wolverines needed a spark and their best all-around player couldnt provide it. Peppers was held to 11 yards rushing on four carries, returned a kickoff just 16 yards, a punt 19 yards and made five tackles.PRO PROSPECTS: Unless he makes a stunning return to college, Peppers is projected to be among the top picks in the draft. He fits the profile of what NFL teams are looking for, a player they can line up against a slot receiver or send on a blitz. Peppers will also be viewed as an asset in the kicking game.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Hollywood, Florida contributed.---Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at www.twitter.com/larrylage Cheap Jaguars Jerseys . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Cheap Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. http://www.cheapjaguarsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-tanner-lee-jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. DJ Chark Jersey . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Jaguars Jerseys China . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. MONZA, Italy -- Lewis Hamilton topped the third and final practice session for the Italian Grand Prix with a healthy 0.4s advantage over Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.The Mercedes drivers also exchanged quickest times in Fridays two practice sessions and on Saturday morning looked like they were on another planet at F1s most power-dependent circuit. Hamiltons session-leading 1:22.008 was nearly a full second clear of Sebastian Vettels Ferrari in third place. Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth as Ferrari appeared to hold its Friday advantage over Red Bull.Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa took the next two spots after showing their usual Saturday morning improvement. The team will be hoping to carry that form over into qualifying as it looks to overhaul Force India in the battle for fourth. Daniel Ricciardo finished seventh for Red Bull, 1.7s off the lead and half a second off the nearest Ferrari.Max Verstappen finished eighth and continued to be at the center of incidents, blocking Rosberg at the Roggia chicane early on. That led a frustrated Rosberg to ask Mercedes What the hell was that? Verstappen was later on his own radio complaining about Kevin Magnussen blocking him on the exit of Ascari, with the Dutchman having to take to the kerbs to avoid the Renault driver.ddddddddddddSergio Perez finished ninth for Force India as the team continued to struggle to match its pace from Spa. Esteban Gutierrez rounded off the top ten for Haas, which is also running the newly-upgraded Ferrari power unit this weekend. Nico Hulkenberg finished 11th, marginally ahead of Jenson Button in the quickest McLaren. That is likely to be a more representative place in the pecking order for McLaren this weekend on a circuit which will punish any remaining Honda deficiencies.Carlos Sainz ended the session 13th ahead of Romain Grosjean, whose session ended with an early spin at Ascari, prompting a Virtual Safety Car period and limiting his morning to four laps. Jolyon Palmer was 15th but finished his session in the gravel after losing the rear of his car at Parabolica. Sauber pair Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr finished either side of 17th place Fernando Alonso. Magnussen was 19th ahead of Daniil Kvyat.At the back, Pascal Wehrlein beat Manor teamate Esteban Ocon to 21st by 0.1s. Cheap NFL Jerseys China Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2019 Cheap Jerseys 2020 Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '
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