Nine freshmen saw their first collegiate action in Saturday’s 33-17 win over Florida, and wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones was one of them.
The freshman was featured in a dual role in the win, playing receiver on offense while also returning punts on special teams.
So how would he grade himself after the victory?
“I played ok, but there’s always room for improvement,” he said. “With the amount of talent we have on this team though, the sky’s the limit.”
Jabrill Peppers returned punts for the Wolverines last year, and was known for his aggressive mindset while doing so. Peoples-Jones seems to have a similar attitude.
“I love returning punts,” he said. “As a punt returner, you have to be relentless and fearless back there. Anything I can do to help this team win, I’m all for. My main goal back there is to get the ball in good field position for the offense — I was close to breaking a big one on a couple.”
Many fans noticed that Peoples-Jones didn’t necessarily secure the ball as well as he should have on several of his returns, and he revealed that it’s already been discussed with the coaches.
“Yeah, we talked about it,” he admitted. “Ball security is a big thing here — we have to protect the ball.”
Peoples-Jones was an early enrollee at Michigan, so he’s nearly been at Michigan for a full year already. He explained he’s improved several areas of his game since he arrived on campus.
“I know where the defense is going to be a lot better now,” he said. “I also know my role better now, and how you’ve got to be a run blocker too as a receiver — those running backs are counting on us to block for them.
“The biggest adjustment from high school to college though is learning the playbook and getting used to all the jargon.”
Getting used to all the terminology of football probably wasn’t something that was too difficult for the freshmen, seeing as how he’s majoring in pre-med.
“I have to treat every class with the same mindset I treat football,” he explained. “I don’t think classes are much different now than they were in the spring for me — I had calculus and physics then, so it’s not a whole lot more now.”
Peoples-Jones was rated as the No. 12 overall player in the country out of high school and the No. 1 receiver, so he was obviously a hot commodity by programs all around the country.
Before choosing Michigan, one of his finalists happened to be Florida. When asked what it was like facing the team he almost chose out of high school, Peoples-Jones had a response that is sure to make Wolverine fans everywhere proud:
“I’m a Michigan Wolverine now,” he said bluntly.
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