Peppers Garners MVP Honors During 2016 Football Bust
12/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 13, 2016
LIVONIA, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Club of Greater Detroit held its 96th annual football bust on Tuesday evening (Dec. 13) at the Laurel Manor in Livonia, where the 2016 team awards were announced and the senior football student-athletes received their coveted 'M' rings. In addition to this year's squad being recognized, U-M players who received All-America honors during the 1990s were also honored.
Junior linebacker and all-purpose contributor Jabrill Peppers was voted the BO SCHEMBECHLER MOST VALUABLE PLAYER by his teammates. U-M's MVP award was officially changed to the Bo Schembechler Award starting in 1995, making Peppers the 22nd recipient of the honor named after Michigan's winningest head coach. This fall, Peppers has helped direct a Michigan defense that leads the nation in pass defense, tackles-for loss and third-down conversion percentage allowed. U-M ranks second nationally in six other categories.
The East Orange, New Jersey, native is tied for second on the team in tackles with a career-best 72 stops on the year. He leads U-M in TFLs (16), averaging 1.3 per game, and is a major reason why U-M is the only team in the nation averaging more than 9.0 TFLs per contest (9.6 average). He contributed four sacks, one interception and one forced fumble. Peppers had 21 punt returns for 310 yards (14.8 avg.) and one touchdown and had 10 kickoff returns for 260 yards (26.0 avg.). He also contributed on the offensive side of the ball, rushing 27 times for 167 yards and three touchdowns while catching two passes.
Peppers has proven his versatility this season, lining up at 15 different positions for the Wolverines (five on offense, six on defense, four on special teams). He played an astounding 933 snaps during the 2016 campaign, logging 726 plays on defense, 53 plays on offense and 154 snaps on special teams.
Finally, the Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player as voted by the team is....@JabrillPeppers! A special honor in a special season. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/2WmI0WYmyr
-- Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) December 14, 2016
The remaining four athletes voted into the top five of the MVP balloting by their teammates were: senior wide receiver Amara Darboh, junior quarterback Wilton Speight, senior running back De'Veon Smith and senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis.
Sophomore tackle Grant Newsome was awarded the ROBERT P. UFER BEQUEST. Named after legendary Wolverine broadcaster Bob Ufer, the award is presented annually to the football player who demonstrates the most enthusiasm and love for the University of Michigan, traditionally a senior. This year's honoree was an exception. Newsome started each of the first five games of the year at left tackle, helping to lead the Wolverine offense to a prolific offensive output early in the year before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Wisconsin (Oct. 1). He was the team's offensive lineman of the game against UCF (Sept. 10) and Penn State (Sept. 24) before the injury cut his season short.
Newsome was also presented with the DR. ARTHUR D. ROBINSON SCHOLARSHIP AWARD for his work in the classroom. Already a U-M Academic Athletic Achievement Award winner as a freshman, Newsome collected his first Academic All-Big Ten honor this fall in his first year eligible for such recognition. He was one of a program record-setting 23 U-M players to receive academic honors from the conference. The McLean, Virgina, native is enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts and has not yet declared a major.
Five total Wolverines were recognized for their academic achievements. To receive this award, student-athletes must have a top cumulative grade-point average while pursuing an undergraduate degree. The individual must have completed 45 credits or more in the classroom while having played two or more seasons in the program. The remaining four academic honorees aside from Newsome included: Matt Mitchell (Business Administration), Ian Bunting (Organizational Studies), Greg Froelich (Political Science) and Jack Wangler (Cognitive Science; Minor in Business Administration).
Senior linebacker Ben Gedeon was awarded the ROGER ZATKOFF AWARD, given to the program's most outstanding linebacker. Gedeon led the U-M defense with a career-best 104 tackles, the lone player to break the century mark, and he was second on the team with 15.5 tackles-for-loss. Gedeon had five games with double-digit tackles this fall, including nine or more in each of the last four weeks. He also registered 4.5 sacks, fourth most on the team, and added two pass breakups. For his career, Gedeon has accumulated 174 tackles over 49 contests. He has made 79 solo stops, 21 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks with two pass breakups.
For the second consecutive season, the RICHARD KATCHER AWARD was shared by fifth-year seniors Chris Wormley and Ryan Glasgow. The Richard Katcher Award is given to the most outstanding defensive lineman or outside linebacker at the conclusion of the season. Wormley has made 39 tackles in 2016, including 17 solo tackles. He posted 9.0 tackles-for-loss and ranks second on the team with 6.0 sacks for 34 yards. Glasgow has also been in on 39 tackles, with 14 solo tackles with 9.5 tackles-for-loss, tied for fifth most on the roster. His 4.0 sacks for 30 yards are a career high. Against the stout Michigan defense led by these two in the front four, opponents averaged just 116.8 yards per game on the ground and converted 21 percent of third-down opportunities. Michigan was the only defense in the country to average more than 3.0 sacks and 9.0 tackles-for-loss per game.
Fifth-year senior right tackle Erik Magnuson was honored with the HUGH H. RADER MEMORIAL AWARD given to the team's best lineman. Magnuson tallied 36 starts in 45 career appearances for the Maize and Blue, including 24 consecutive starts to close his Wolverine career. He helped anchor the U-M offensive line to the Big Ten's No. 2 total offense (439.3 yards per game), No. 2 scoring offense (40.8 points per game) and No. 2 rushing attack (223.3 yards per game). The U-M protection unit allowed just 18 sacks on the season, matching last year's total.
U-M introduced two new awards to this year's celebration awarded by the coaches, both of which include a top-five list of vote-getters: Scout Team Player of the Year and the Most Improved Player award.
The Scout Team Player of the Year was awarded to Anthony Dalimonte. A senior safety from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Dalimonte was named Scout Team Player of the Week on three occasions during the regular season: after wins over Penn State (Sept. 24), Maryland (Nov. 5) and Indiana (Nov. 19). He worked hard over the summer and in camp to return from injury and contributed to the defensive and special teams look squads in particular. The remaining four scout team honorees aside from Dalimonte included: junior running back Joe Hewlett, junior fullback Joe Beneducci, fifth-year senior Ben Pliska and sophomore linebacker Reuben Jones.
Speight took home the Most Improved Player Award. Speight, who had thrown just 25 pass attempts while appearing in seven games prior to 2016, enjoyed a successful season under center, completing 183-of-293 pass attempts (62.5 percent) for 2,375 yards with 17 passing touchdowns to six interceptions, adding another touchdown on the ground. He was named a Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist, U-M's first since Denard Robinson, and helped lead U-M to the Big Ten's No. 2 total offense and No. 2 scoring offense.
Speight was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week twice after wins against UCF (Sept. 10) and Maryland (Nov. 5) and put his name into the U-M record books with the most passing yards in a single half (292) and most passing touchdowns through two weeks (7) in program history. He threw for 200 yards or more in seven games, with two 300-yard performances, and already ranks No. 19 on U-M's all-time passing yards list (2,448 yards).
Also included among the top-five most improved players were: Darboh (52 receptions; career bests in yards [826] and touchdowns [7]), senior linebacker Mike McCray (career bests in tackles [72], tackles-for-loss [12.5], sacks [4.5] and pass breakups [7]), senior cornerback Channing Stribling (career bests in tackles [27], tackles-for-loss [3], pass breakups [16], interceptions [4] and sacks [1]) and junior defensive end Chase Winovich (career bests in tackles [34], tackles-for-loss [8.5], sacks [5] and forced fumbles [1]).
Following are the 2016 University of Michigan football team award winners:
Bo Schembechler MVP: Jabrill Peppers
Dr. Arthur D. Robinson Scholarship Award: Grant Newsome
Robert P. Ufer Bequest: Grant Newsome
Roger Zatkoff Award: Ben Gedeon
Richard Katcher Award: Ryan Glasgow, Chris Wormley (co-recipients)
Hugh H. Rader Memorial Award: Erik Magnuson
Most Improved Player: Wilton Speight
Scout Team Player of the Year: Anthony Dalimonte
Communications Contacts: Dave Ablauf, Chad Shepard
