Mark Snyder

Detroit Free Press

Jabrill Peppers always gives the same answer when asked why he plays so many positions for the Michigan football team.

Because they ask him to.

After playing 933 snaps at 15 different positions this season, Peppers today won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation's most versatile player.

Peppers consistently was on the Hornung weekly honor roll this season and edged out fellow finalists Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), who won the award last season, Adoree Jackson (USC) and Dede Westbrook (Oklahoma).

"It means a lot to me to win this award," Peppers said in a released statement. "You definitely want to do as much as possible, and you want to do it as well as you can. I think there are a lot of guys who could have won this award, so it's just a tremendous honor to be the winner and to represent the Paul Hornung Award. I'm just going to keep to trying to get better, keep working on my faults and do whatever I have to do to help my team."

Peppers will be honored at a banquet March 7 in Louisville, Ky.

The nation's No. 2-ranked recruit when he signed with U-M under coach Brady Hoke in 2014, his true freshman year was marred by leg injuries. After playing in a few early games, he decided to take a redshirt season. Jim Harbaugh and the new coaching staff arrived in 2015 and saw his potential, immediately using him as a safety and return man, in addition to working him in as a running back late in the season.

The experimentation reached another level this fall, as Peppers was moved to strongside linebacker as his primary position. He became a defensive force, rushing the passer, compiling 16 tackles for loss and 72 tackles overall. He grabbed his first career interception in the regular-season finale at Ohio State. Combined with his prolific return game -- fourth nationally in punt-return average (14.8 yards) -- and his work as a wildcat quarterback, Peppers rarely left the field. On offense, he rushed 27 times for 167 yards and three touchdowns and had two receptions.

U-M said he played 726 plays on defense, 53 on offense and 154 on special teams.

"Jabrill Peppers is a throwback to the time I played," Hornung, a Notre Dame great, said in a released statement. "He's fearless on the field and uses his tremendous athletic skills and determination to play any position to help Michigan win football games. Jabrill is a fantastic addition to our list of Paul Hornung Award winners."

Owen Marecic won the initial Hornung Award in 2010 while playing under Harbaugh at Stanford.

Peppers became a national name as much for his highlight plays as anything else: a hurdle on a return against Hawaii, the duck-under on a called-back return at Rutgers, a 63-yard wildcat run against the Scarlet Knights and a two-point return at Michigan State.

The Hornung is Peppers' first national award this season. On Monday, he was in Charlotte for the Nagurski Award banquet (Alabama's Jonathan Allen won the award as the nation's top defensive player). The next two days, he'll be in Atlanta for the College Football Awards, where he's a contender for a number of trophies.

A Heisman finalist, the redshirt sophomore is still up for the Camp and Maxwell awards (player of the year), Bednarik (top linebacker), the Lott IMPACT Trophy (defensive player with character) and the Big Ten Silver Football (MVP). Last week, Peppers became the first Big Ten football player to win three individual awards in one season: defensive player of the year, return specialist of the year and linebacker of the year.

The Heisman moment is the talk of college football, as the first primarily defensive player to be invited since 2012.

“We’re all excited about it, really thrilled," Harbaugh said today at the Orange Bowl press conference in South Florida. "I talked to many of our players yesterday. They’ll be pulling hard for Jabrill to win. He’s an amazing player that does everything that anybody asks, that any of his teammates or coaches ask him to do. Whether it’s play after or corner or nickel or linebacker or quarterback, slot receiver, punt returner or kick returner. He does it all and without hesitation, to the best of his ability and does it to the best of his god-given ability every time. He’s the ultimate team player. Our teammates appreciate him for that. We’re really happy for his success. Our team is the type of team that’s happy for the other guy’s success. I looking forward to participating in the Heisman finals."

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