Who is the best Michigan football recruit this century?

Who is the best recruit to star for Michigan football since 2000?

Of the many five-star recruits to play for Michigan football this century, one outshined the rest.

In the eyes of the 247Sports Composite, defensive tackle Rashan Gary may have had a perfect 1.000 rating, as he was seen a the greatest recruit to ever come out of high school in their system. While he had a solid three years at Michigan and now plays for the Green Bay Packers, the best recruit Michigan has had since 2000 was without question Jabrill Peppers.

What’s even crazier is Gary and Peppers were high school teammates back in the day at Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey. Peppers was a five-star athlete with an 0.9992 rating in the recruiting class of 2014. Gary was two grades below Peppers in high school, so the connection to Paramus Catholic was very strong by the time he committed.

Peppers was the No. 3 player in his recruiting class behind only running back Leonard Fournette of New Orleans, Louisiana and Myles Garrett of Arlington, Texas. Fournette went to LSU, while Garrett played for Texas A&M. The top-five that year was rounded out by a pair of Alabama commits in offensive tackle Cam Robinson and defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand.

The 6-foot and 205-pound safety had 23 offers and had 17 coach visits. However, he only made one official visit and that was to Michigan on Dec. 13, 2013. Though it seemed pretty clear from the jump he was set on playing for the Wolverines, the other team that really fought hard for his commitment was the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Though Mario Cristobal and Lance Thompson fought hard to get Peppers to Tuscaloosa, Curt Mallory and Greg Mattison were able to get him to Ann Arbor. Peppers enrolled at the University of Michigan on June 25, 2014.

Jabrill Peppers was the best recruit to play for Michigan this century.

After succumbing to injury during his true freshman campaign, Peppers was given a redshirt after only play in three games for the Wolverines that season. Then as a redshirt freshman playing under new head coach Jim Harbaugh, Peppers asserted himself as one of the most dynamic and versatile players the program has seen since Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson.

Peppers took home Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2015, as was named First-Team All-Big Ten and Second-Team All-American. As a safety/linebacker hybrid who could make some plays on offense as well, Pepper was gearing up for an unforgettable redshirt sophomore season in 2016.

Peppers was named a unanimous First-Team All-American, as he was invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony as predominantly a defense-first player. He took home the Paul Hornung Award and the Lott Trophy. Peppers was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year. He opted to turn pro two years early in 2017.

Peppers was drafted No. 25 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, where he would play the first two seasons of his NFL career. Ahead of the 2019 NFL season, Peppers was traded to the New York Giants along with offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler and two 2019 NFL Draft picks in exchange for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and defensive end Olivier Vernon.

After only one year of service with the Giants, New York elected to pick up Peppers’ fifth-year option. Through his first three NFL seasons, Peppers has made 212 total tackles, deflected 13 passes, intercepted three balls, forced three fumbles, recovered two fumbles and has sacked the quarterback once. He also has 1,134 career yards in the return game.

While he’ll never likely be a Pro Bowler, Peppers had two legendary seasons while at Michigan.

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