Jabrill Peppers has been named to the 2016 Paul Hornung Award watch list. The award is given to the most versatile player in college football.
Peppers, who will be a redshirt sophomore, logged 45 tackles and 10 passes swatted away. He ran 18 times for two touchdowns, had eight receptions, eight kick returns and 17 punt returns. From Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey, Peppers will make the switch from safety to linebacker for the 2016 season.
Along with Peppers, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and USC two-way player Adoree’ Jackson lead the back of 43 players early. McCaffrey broke the NCAA record with 3,864 single-season all-purpose yards last season, which propelled him to win the 2015 award.
Previous winners include McCaffrey, Shaq Thompson, Odell Beckham Jr., Tavon Austin, Bradon Boykin and Owen Marecic.
2016 Hornung Award watch list
Ishmael Adams, UCLA
Victor Bolden Jr., Oregon State
Antonio Callaway, Florida
Seth Collins, Oregon State
Jared Cornelius, Arkansas
Tim Crawley, San Jose State
DeVon Edwards, Duke
Brisly Estime, Syracuse
Johnathan Ford, Auburn
Janarion Grant, Rutgers
Nyheim Hines, NC State
Brandon Holloway, Mississippi State
Adoreeâ Jackson, USC
DâErnest Johnson, South Florida
Quay Johnson, East Carolina
Xavier Johnson, South Alabama
Corey Jones, Toledo
Desmond King, Iowa
Christian Kirk, Texas A&M
Donovan Lee, Colorado
William Likely, Maryland
Jalen McCleskey, Oklahoma State
Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
Elijah McGuire, Louisiana Lafayette
Isaiah McKenzie, Georgia
Charles Nelson, Oregon
Zach Pascal, Old Dominion
Rashaad Penny, San Diego State
Jabrill Peppers, Michigan
Darius Phillips, Western Michigan
Trevor Ryen, Iowa State
Artavis Scott, Clemson
R.J. Shelton, Michigan State
Cameron Sutton, Tennessee
Ryan Switzer, North Carolina
Jahad Thomas, Temple
Aregeros Turner, Northern Illinois
KaVontae Turpin, TCU
Tim White, Arizona State
Jordan Whitehead, Pittsburgh
Brandon Wilson, Houston
Dontre Wilson, Ohio State
Olamide Zaccheaus, Virginia