Michigan an honorable mention in Bleacher Report’s list of best defensive back schools

The Michigan Wolverines were listed as an honorable mention on Bleacher Report’s list of the top defensive back universities (DBU’s) in college football history. Michigan was one of nine schools that were listed in contention for the honor

“Aside from USC’s duo of Ronnie Lott and Troy Polamalu, good luck finding any school with a better one-two punch than Charles Woodson and Ty Law. Michigan had a few other Pro Bowl defensive backs in the 1970s and 1980s, but no one particularly unforgettable. And aside from Leon Hall and arguably Jabrill Peppers, Michigan hasn’t produced a good DB since 1998.” - Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report

In recent years the Wolverines have also put out a lot of Day 2 and Day 3 players including Josh Metellus, David Long, Jourdan Lewis, Delano Hill, and Jeremy Clark. But before Jabrill Peppers was selected at No. 25 in 2017, Michigan had not produced a first-round pick from their secondary since Leon Hall in 2007. The ten-year drought surely damaged their resume.

The top-3 schools on Bleacher Report’s list are the Florida State Seminoles coming in at No. 3 citing Deion Sanders and LeRoy Butler as two of the best to come from the school. At No. 2 is the Ohio State Buckeyes as seemingly every season they have a first-round pick come from their defensive backfield. And coming in as the top selection is USC as Miller took quality over quantity with the Hall of Fame safeties Troy Polamalu and Ronnie Lott being referenced as some of the top players at their position in the history of football.

Good news and bad news for Shea Patterson

I’ll start with the bad news for former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson. As I mentioned in Daily Brews earlier this week, Patterson is the only member from the 337 participants in the NFL Combine to not find a home after the NFL Draft and the undrafted free agency period has past.

The good news for Shea is that there are more professional football leagues than the NFL. The British Columbia Lions from Canadian Football League took a chance on Patterson last summer and it could end up paying out for them:

While Patterson could not be selected in yesterday’s CFL Draft, he is already technically on British Columbia’s roster per their negotiation list. According to TSN, CFL teams can place up to 45 international players on their negotiation list and can later add, trade, or release player from this list onto their roster. If the player decides to come to the CFL, the team that owns their rights will have 10-days to sign him to a minimum two-year, $106,000 contract (as of 2018). Basically it restricts American players from coming to the CFL, signing lucrative contracts, and then returning to the NFL when scouts see them perform.

If Patterson chooses to end his hopes on making an NFL roster this season in favor of play up north, it appears he will be headed to the Lions for a fraction of what he could make in the NFL.

Jabrill Peppers granted fifth-year option by Giants

Amazingly, it has already been three years since Jabrill Peppers was rocking the Viper position at Michigan, and the Giants are ready to commit to Peppers for a fifth seasons.

Adam Schefter is reporting that Peppers and his teammate Evan Engram were granted their fifth-year options.

Peppers was selected No. 25 overall to the Cleveland Browns in the 2017 NFL Draft but was a part of the package that the Browns sent to New York for star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr..

Peppers has had a solid career up to this point with 147 tackles, three interceptions, and a defensive touchdown in his 40 career games. The Giants still hope that he can be the focal point of their secondary for years to come.

Other Brews

• Peppers former teammate and former first-round pick from Michigan, Taco Charlton, was released from the Dolphins on Thursday. Charlton was selected No. 17 overall in the 2017 draft to the Dallas Cowboys but was cut and later picked up by the Dolphins. He had five sacks last season in Miami, but clearly it was not enough to keep him on the roster.

National Brews

• NASCAR announced on Thursday that it would be the first professional sports league in the U.S. to return after the coronavirus outbreak. They will host seven races in eleven days starting with a Cup Series race on Sunday, May 17 at the Darlington National Speedway. The races will all take place in North Carolina in Darlington and Charlotte.
• Arizona and Arizona State both announced on Thursday that they would be reopening their respective campuses in the fall on 2020.
• SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said that their is room for different conferences to make different decision about whether or not they will have their campuses reopen and have their athletic programs return to action on a radio hit in Jacksonville. Stay at home orders have mostly ended in parts of SEC country including Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina with Missouri, Texas, Alabama, and Florida soon to follow.