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The Julius Peppers story is worth celebrating, especially for his demented detractors.
Peppers put a cherry on the top of his sensational football career with induction into the NFL Hall of Fame over the weekend, the third in UNC history.
A unanimous first-team All-American at Carolina in 2001, he won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player and the Vince Lombardi Award as the best interior lineman when he was 10th in the Heisman Trophy balloting. A first-team All-ACC selection in 2000 and ’01, Peppers ended his collegiate career with 177 tackles, 31 sacks, 53 tackles for losses, five forced fumbles and five interceptions. Remember the spectacular one at Clemson?
A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Peppers had been the second overall pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2002 NFL Draft and played 10 years in Charlotte, four years for the Chicago Bears and three for the Green Bay Packers. He earned nine Pro Bowl selections, three first-team and three second-team All-Pro honors, Defensive Rookie of the Year and made the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 2000s.
During his 17 NFL seasons, Peppers made 719 tackles, 175 tackles for losses and 159.5 sacks (fourth all-time in the NFL), forced 52 fumbles, recovered 21 and had 11 interceptions.
Mack Brown recruited Peppers but never coached him. “We couldn’t be prouder of Julius for the person, father, husband and friend he’s become and it’s so rewarding to see him recognized for his significant accomplishments on the football field,” Brown said.
Peppers was long gone from Chapel Hill and started to give back generously to UNC when in 2010 he was dragged into the infamous academic-athletic scandal by a couple of hacker nerds at N.C. State who found a Peppers transcript on the internet and circulated it.
As a sub-standard public high school student from outside of Wilson, Peppers was a so-called special admission at Carolina due to his immense football skills.
Thank goodness the political Board of Governors goons in Raleigh hadn’t forced the DEI curriculum out, or Peppers’ life would have been far different for him and all the other lives he touched — from the family he now has to those whose Saturday afternoons he helped make us all enjoy.
He thrilled alumni and fans by being given the chance to play college football. That is what this country has always been about, no matter what you look like or where you come from.
And Julius Peppers is the poster child for that opportunity. Warmest thanks and congratulations to him!
Featured image via Associated Press/David Dermer
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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