Missing imagePeppers.jpg Julius Peppers.
(born
January 18,
1980) is an
American football player from
Bailey,
North Carolina. He currently plays
defensive end for the
Carolina Panthers.
Early Years
As a freshman, Julius Peppers had grown to 6'5",225 lbs. He believed his future, and his main passion was basketball. But his high school's football coach, Ray Davis got him to play football, although he had never played before. For his high school career, he played running back and defensive line, rushing for 3501 yards, and 46 touchdowns and being one of the most dangerous defensive linemen in the area. He also lettered in track, as a sprinter, and a triple jumper.
College Career
Missing imagePeppers_heels.jpg Julius Peppers as a North Carolina Tar Heel.
Peppers played defensive end at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he won the
Chuck Bednarik Award for the nation's top defensive player in
2001. Possessing an unusual amount of quickness and agility for a defensive lineman,
Missing imagePeppers_basketball.jpg Julius Peppers also played Basketball for the Tar Heels.
Peppers also played
basketball for the
Tar Heels, providing valuable minutes to a team that reached the
Final Four. During his sophmore season, Peppers' Averaged 7.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game and led the Tar Heels with a field goal percentage of .643. He made 63 of 98 shots from the floor and at least 60 percent of his shots from the floor in 16 of 25 games. He Scored in double figures six times, including 21 against Penn State, 18 against Maryland, 14 against Wake Forest, 13 against Marquette, 12 vs. Princeton and 10 vs. NC State. He made his season debut at UCLA after just three days of practice and had six points.
NFL Career
Missing imagePeppers_draft.jpg Peppers on draft day.
In the
2002 NFL draft, Peppers was selected by the
Carolina Panthers as the second overall pick. Peppers made an immediate impact and was named The
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year by the
Associated Press. On
October 13, 2002, Peppers became only the third player in
NFL history to amass three sacks and an interception in the same game.
Peppers may be the most important member of the Carolina Panthers' defensive line, which some experts say is the best in football. During his rookie season in 2002, Peppers' tallied 28 Tackles, 12 Sacks, 1 Interception, and 5 Forced Fumbles. In 2003, during the Panthers Super Bowl run, he had 37 Tackles, 7 Sacks, and 3 Forced Fumbles. In 2004, he was selected to his first ever Pro Bowl with 52 Tackles, 11 Sacks, 2 Interceptions, 4 Forced Fumbles, and two Touchdowns.
