Freshman Donovan Peoples-Jones showed flashes as a first-year punt returner last season, but he was no Jabrill Peppers.
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Fact is, very few are going to be. Defensive coordinator Don Brown said he used to laugh when coaches would call him and say they had the ‘next Jabrill Peppers’ on defense (‘no you don’t,’ he’d respond), and the same is true for special teams. But Peoples-Jones can be very good back there, and he’s improved tremendously this spring.
“He looks way more comfortable there,” special teams coach Chris Partridge said. “Going into last year I had three different people tell me, ‘do not start a freshman punt returner. Don’t do it.’ But he was the best we had, and we wanted to live with it. We were so young across the board. We had a first-year snapper, punter and kicker so it was really, ‘what’s one more first-year guy?’ He had highs and lows.
“[This spring] he got better. I just told him, he’s catching the ball better than any time last year. He’s more comfortable. It’s a hard thing to do. As a freshman you’re reading the nose of the ball, wind factor, a lot of factors, and now he’s getting comfortable. We’re pretty dynamic back there.”
There’s a stable building, in fact. He likes what redshirt freshman Oliver Martin is doing, while junior David Long, senior Grant Perry (who is now healthy after rehabbing from an injury) and junior Chris Evans have all shown signs of being able to handle it.
“It’s a nice group back there,” Partridge said. “They’re dynamic.”
The punters, too, continue to work. That’s also an area that needs improvement — the Wolverines finished 11thin punt average at 39.6 yards and tied for last in net avg. at 35.7 a year ago — and freshman Brad Robbins and redshirt sophomore Will Hart are still trying to find some consistency.
“They’re a year older, so right away, yes,” Partridge said when asked if they were more consistent. “It’s funny … everyone is like, ‘punt the ball — just kick the ball.’ We’re a pro style directional team. Some of the NFL guys have trouble with that.
“What we put on these guys is not easy. When they come in and they’re young, it’s a lot, a whirlwind of stuff. It’s not like they’re just catching and punting. We snap it faster, the rush is faster, and we’re actually asking them to put it on a spot. Last year was really good for those guys, and I really like both guys and the way they attacked the spring.”
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