Penn State’s defense has seen its fair share of playmakers this season. From Will Likely at Maryland to Braxton Miller at Ohio State. Every team has explosive players, very few have game changers at an elite level.
And for yet another week the Nittany Lions will have to prepare for the latest in the growing list of players who can change the game at a moments notice. This week Michigan “linebacker” Jabrill Peppers.
Clearly the linebacker position doesn’t lend itself to explosive potential very often, but Peppers is no normal athlete. With 486 yards of total offense he would rank third on Penn State’s roster behind Christian Hackenberg and Saquon Barkley. Peppers averages just over 27 yards a kickoff return and 12 yards a punt return. Add in 54 yards receiving and two rushing touchdowns and you have yourself quite the player.
Oh, he’s also fifth on the team in tackles too.
So for maybe the first time all year, Penn State won’t have a chance to catch its breath going against a game changer. Braxton Miller would never play on defense and Will Likely was held in check on special teams. Peppers though, he’ll be out there all the time doing a lot of different things, always lurking and always threatening to break a big one.
“I think Jabrill is a guy who we have a lot of respect for on tape and gets a lot of attention nationally and in the media and from a recruiting standpoint when he came out of high school,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “On offense, he’s in there. They’re going to try to get his hands on the ball. Whether it’s as a receiver or a running back, he’s an explosive guy. You look at his is 100-meter times in high school, he’s obviously an explosive guy, and he’s not built like a track guy. He’s put together.”
“Same thing on special teams, as a returner, he’s able to impact the game in that area. And then on defense they play him all over the place. They play him at safety. They play him at nickel. They play him at corner. They play him at outside linebacker. He plays all these different roles for them. That’s kind of who they are on defense, they play a lot of different packages. They match up. So if you’re in 22 personnel, they’re going to be in a four-four defense. They have four linebackers on the field and four down linemen. You’re in 11 personnel, they’re going to be in nickel. They match up a lot with what they do. They got a lot of different personnel packages. He’s a part of almost all of them. But he’s doing a nice job for them.”
So no pressure, just slow down one of the most diverse players in college football.
The good news for Penn State, the Nittany Lions have pretty well managed to hold big time play makers in check. Northwestern’s Justin Jackson has the most all-purpose yards on the year against Penn State with 195. Rashaad Penny managed 192 in a unique San Deigo State attack. Even the once hopeful Heisman candidate Ezekiel Elliott managed just 174 yards, albeit 154 on the ground and a key touchdown run.
Ultimately it’s the damage done not the yards gained that will make the difference this weekend. But the Nittany Lions are just 2-3 when allowing of 100 yards of total offense by a single player this year. Considering that Penn State only just got past Maryland, that record nearly fell to 1-4 on the year.
So Penn State will have to keep the Peppers in the shaker.
