Former UNC star Julius Peppers announced his retirement on Friday after 17 years playing professional football.

Peppers, who played the majority of his career with the Carolina Panthers, was a two-sport athlete in Chapel Hill. He forged a career on the football field as a dominant pass rusher, but was also a walk-on with the UNC basketball team.

Although Roy Williams never got the chance to coach Peppers (Peppers left for the NFL Draft in 2002, Williams was hired at Carolina in 2003), he said that Peppers’ athleticism made him unique among athletes that played both football and basketball.

“He had great feet. I mean he could slide his feet and stay in front of a basketball player,” Williams said. “He moves his feet and gets around the offensive lineman. I thought he had great hands and strength with his hands.”

Williams said the first time he saw Peppers was at Peach Jam, an annual basketball tournament that routinely draws the top prospects in the country along with most college basketball head coaches in attendance.

According to Williams’ story, he was initially confused as to why Peppers was going to Carolina.

“I said, he’s good but gracious sakes. I’m not so sure he’s that good.”

Williams was then told that Peppers was heading to Carolina on scholarship to play football, not basketball.

Peppers walked-on and played basketball for two seasons in Chapel Hill, mostly as a rotational player. His most notable performance came in the 2001 NCAA Tournament against Penn State, where he scored career-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds (his first career double-double).

After Peppers started playing basketball for Carolina, Williams said his view on Peppers’ basketball skills changed.

“I thought he was magnificent,” Williams said. “I thought he was fantastic for the program, fantastic part of the team and helped them win games.”

While Peppers made a living terrorizing quarterbacks on the football field, there is no denying that his 6’7″, 295-pound size would have intimidated anyone on the basketball court.

“He’s a little bit more terrorizing as a defensive end, but I’d hate to see [Peppers] coming down the lane with me being the only thing between him and a basket,” Williams joked. “I’d have gone to the concession stand.”

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