| North Carolina DE Julius Peppers is expected to be one of the first
players drafted at the NFL Draft on April 20. Peppers, who finished his career with 30.5
sacks and won the Lombardi Award given to the country’s top lineman as a senior, has
been compared to former Tar Heels great Lawrence Taylor with his lightning quickness.
Peppers answered questions about those comparisons at the NFL Scouting Combine in
Indianapolis as well as discussing what NFL teams wanted to know from him and who was the
best college lineman he faced in his three-year college career. Q: Carolina is
expected to select you with the second overall pick of the draft. Would you like to stay
close to home in Carolina?
A: It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t have a preference to where I play at,
whether it’s Carolina or Detroit, as long as I get a chance to play.
Q: Have you met with the Panthers yet?
A: Yeah, I met with them.
Q: How did it go?
A: It went good. It went well. I still don’t know what they are thinking though. I
like the organization. I think they like me.
Q: Have you talked to the Lions as well?
A: Yes.
Q: What have you sensed from them?
A: I feel like all of the teams like me. It’s just a matter of what they need at
the time.
Q: Whom did you meet with in Carolina? What did they want to know?
A: I met with the head coach, coach (John) Fox. He wanted to know how important
football was to me, why I decided to play football instead of basketball. Character —
they asked about my character.
Q: Why did you pick football over basketball?
A: Because this is my sport. This is the sport that is going to give me my greatest
challenge.
Q: Did playing basketball make you a better football player?
A: It did. I think they are two totally different sports. I think I just happen to be a
pretty good player at both.
Q: What was behind your decision to enter the draft early?
A: I thought it was just time to take my game to the next level. I didn’t think I
could accomplish anything by playing against college players again.
Q: Who is the best college lineman you have faced?
A: Auburn’s Kendall Simmons.
Q: How did you fare against him?
A: It was a pretty good game. He had plays. I had plays. It was pretty even.
Q: What was it like playing for North Carolina head coach John Bunting?
A: It was fun. I really liked him. I think he is a great coach. He helped me out a lot
so it was real fun playing for him.
Q: Is he an intense guy?
A: Yes, he really is.
Q: What are some of the things you feel you need to work on to improve at the next
level?
A: I think my main thing is getting stronger in the weight room, physically stronger,
and a little bit bigger, so I can focus on stopping the run and become a complete player.
Q: How much have you improved your strength thus far?
A: I have improved it a little bit, but I still have a long way to go.
Q: As a basketball player, you are kind of familiar with players going from high
school to the pros. Do you think it could ever happen in football?
A: No, I don’t think anybody could go from high school to the NFL. You got players
who go to college for three or four years who still have bodies not ready to go to the
NFL, so a high school player, no.
Q: As far as technique, what are you looking to improve before the draft?
A: My overall game, everything. I still have hope for a lot of improvement. I am
looking forward to it.
Q: What do you think of the criticism that you took plays off this year, such as at
the Georgia Tech game?
A: I didn’t take any plays off this year. I had games where I had better stats
than others, but it wasn’t because I wasn’t playing hard. I played hard and gave
the same effort every game. It was just different situations — different teams put me
in different situations.
Q: Does it bother you? Do you feel like people were looking for things to criticize
you about when you get to this level going into the draft?
A: Yeah, but I look at it as, I try to get myself better. If people say I’m not
doing this, even though I think I am doing it pretty well, I still try to improve on it
— prove people wrong.
Q: How important was it to have a strong supporting cast around you at UNC?
A: It was great. There was pressure on me to perform this year, but there wasn’t
as much because I had other people around me who could step up and take a little bit off
of me.
Q: Do you envision yourself, or have you thought much about, being one of the best
pass rushers of all time?
A: I think it’s possible. I want to maximize my potential as a player. I want to
be as good as I could possibly be. And if I do that, I think I could be one of the best
players out there.
Q: Your defensive line coach, James Webster, said he was very demanding of you in
practice. How much did he help you improve your game and help take you to another level?
A: He helped me out a lot. He helped me out a lot with his motivational tactics.
Q: Can you discuss his motivational tactics?
A: He was more of a get-in-your-face coach than I had in the past, but that wasn’t
a problem for me. I adjust well to any kind of coaching styles, but that was more his
style. That was something new for me. I think that got me a little bit more prepared.
Q: Have you met former North Carolina great OLB Lawrence Taylor?
A: No, I haven’t met him.
Q: Have people described you as the second coming of Lawrence Taylor at North
Carolina?
A: Yeah, that’s great that people compare me to successful players like that, but
again, I want to be my own player. I want to be Julius Peppers. I don’t want to be
the next Lawrence Taylor. I don’t want to have to live with his legacy. I want to be
my own player.
Julius Peppers feature: A
humble Hercules
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