COLUMBUS, Ohio _ It seemed apt that a former professional coach captured the electricity of arguably the best all-around athlete who will take the field Saturday when Ohio State hosts Michigan.
Because in a few months, it might not be the Buckeyes but the Browns chasing Jabrill Peppers in the NFL draft.
As Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh tried to convey what is exceptional about UM's junior linebacker/defensive back/running back/return man, one might swear his hair ruffled in the breeze as he described Peppers passing by.
"Explosive! He's explosive," Harbaugh, who spent four years with the San Francisco 49ers, said Monday. "You see it, you feel it, you understand it whether he's making a tackle, whether he's got the football in his hand, whether he's closing ground, whether he's covering. When he runs by you, you feel the wind. You feel the air moving and you feel the force into the ground. It's dart-like. It's explosive."
With uncertainty about Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight, who injured his nonthrowing shoulder in a Nov. 12 loss to Iowa and sat out last week, Peppers could be the player who determines the Wolverines' fate.
This season, Peppers has rushed 23 times for 163 yards (with a long gain of 63 yards) and three touchdowns, caught two passes for 3 yards, averaged 24 yards on nine kick returns and 15.2 yards on 20 punt returns, including his first career touchdown. On defense, Peppers has a career-high 65 tackles (43 solos), four sacks, 16 tackles for losses and a forced fumble.
Peppers, 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, has already played 15 different positions in 2016. But if there is anything else Harbaugh can dream up for Peppers in the ultimate rivalry game he will, especially since Peppers ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds earlier this year, according to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.
"It's a huge challenge. Obviously he's a very dynamic player," Ohio State linebacker Joe Burger said Monday. "We have to do a good job of preparing and understanding the way they use him and what he does best."
Last year in the Buckeyes' 42-13 victory in Ann Arbor, Peppers rushed seven times for 30 yards, caught two passes for 25 yards and had five tackles. This year it's possible Peppers could be matched up with Buckeyes' H-back Curtis Samuel, pitting perhaps the two fastest men on each team.
Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett said he wasn't paying special attention to Peppers a year ago, but is aware of his talent.
"This year I know he's playing a different position, but I think what we're going to do is going to be effective," Barrett said.
Peppers' biggest impact could come in the return game, even if statistics might not portend that.
Peppers' punt return average ranks fourth in the nation, but Ohio State has given up an average of 3.1 yards (11th in the country) on 11 returns in 11 games.
"Thinking about punt returners, the two best guys we would have played both got hurt, for Maryland and Rutgers," Burger said. "Those are both dynamic athletes. This will be the stiffest test we've had to date."
Burger said Peppers has the traits that make for an outstanding punt returner.
"The best ones are always aggressive to the ball and willing to take every chance they can and he does a good job of that," Burger said of Peppers. "He's a guy who's going to get vertical. He's going to make a couple cuts, but he's going to get vertical and he's going to get there quick. It puts a lot of pressure on you to get to him fast and force a fair catch because he's going to take every opportunity he can."
Ohio State's 18.4 average allowed on kickoff returns is 25th in the NCAA, but the Buckeyes did give up a 97-yarder for a touchdown at Oklahoma on Sept. 17.
Peppers is projected as a safety or linebacker in the NFL, with draft analyst Dane Brugler of CBS Sports predicting Peppers could be a top 10 pick in 2017.
In a Sept. 20 analysis, Brugler compared Peppers to former Raiders and Packers defensive back Charles Woodson, Michigan product who also played offense and returned kicks.
"On defense, he has elite burst and closing speed with the physical nature to explode at contact and create impact collisions," Brugler wrote of Peppers.
With that in mind, the Buckeyes will try to keep track of where Peppers is on every snap.
"I know he's a dynamic player," Ohio State linebacker Chris Worley said. "You've got to give credit when it's due, he's a helluva talent."
