“I get to do all three of those”.
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Jabrill Peppers proved his worth.
In the week leading up to the matchup at MI Stadium, Rutgers paid respect to the sophomore defensive back’s athletic prowess, with a few Knights having played against the East Orange native in high school.
As the bright lights flickered on at “The Big House”, Peppers proved that he is both sizzle and steak, making six tackles on defense, including one for loss, along with two carries on offense, highlighted by an 18-yard touchdown run on a lateral pass.
“He was livid”, Jabrill Peppers said. He attended last night’s win over Rutgers, and after the game, he hung out with head coach Jim Harbaugh. “The move he made and the way he weaves himself through there…” I don’t really know. Against a better team, those kind of plays could make the difference between winning and losing, and the Wolverines will have to improve on those going forward. “Someone who would have a future playing in that league”.
“We train our quarterbacks to throw to people that aren’t covered, even if it’s a running play”, Harbaugh said, according to Grant Cohn of the Press Democrat.
Martin did something no other running back has done against MI this season: Break a run of 30-plus yards.
You won’t see any on the scoreboard, but the starting quarterback is getting the team into the right play at the line of scrimmage, there was a 54-yard rush in the first quarter, and a true freshman cornerback had a pass break-up in the end zone. “I still think I have a lot of work to do and a ways to go, but I definitely – I’m talented”.
It wasn’t particularly close when MI football trounced the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers 49-16, and the game felt like even more of a blowout than the score showed.
The Wolverines were charged with an “intent to deceive” penalty in which tight end Jake Butt was set up wide and Rutgers never saw him.
The unpleasantness remains on the front burner for Harbaugh, who took a none-too-subtle swipe at the Niners in his post-game breakdown of the Michigan-Rutgers game Saturday.
Four different Wolverines scored rushing touchdowns on Saturday, with Butt catching four passes for 102 yards. Harbaugh appears to be suggesting the coaching staff was to blame for not coaching up Kaepernick and the quarterbacks to make that audible, despite Kaepernick taking the blame.
It sounds as if Harbaughs players are well aware of what needs to happen for them to end the schools 11-year conference title drought. “Knowing he can manage the game and manage the clock gives us, you know, extra breathing time, you know, to just go out there and execute”.
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Rutgers went through a similar rough stretch last season and was able to rebound with wins in 3-of-4 games down the stretch.
