Newport Beach, CA- Michigan’s all-purpose star Jabrill Peppers has been named the winner of the 13th annual Lott IMPACT Trophy brought to you by Mercedes-Benz USA.
Presented by trophy namesake, Ronnie Lott, the announcement came Sunday night at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Ca. at the Lott IMPACT Trophy Annual Awards Banquet.
The award goes to the defensive player who has the biggest IMPACT on his team. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Peppers, a 6-1, 208-pound junior from East Orange, New Jersey excelled as a linebacker (72 tackles, 16 tackles for losses), punt returner (14.8 yard average), kick returner and occasional offensive threat (167 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns). He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and the winner of the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player (he played 15 different positions this season).
The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation will present a $25,000 check to the general scholarship fund at Michigan in recognition of Peppers’ achievement.
Runner-ups were Jonathan Allen of Alabama, Adoree’ Jackson of USC and Weston Steelhammer of Air Force. Each of those schools will receive a check for $5,000 for its general scholarship fund.
Former UCLA Coach Terry Donahue was also honored for his work with the California Showcase, an annual tryout for high school students to receive financial aid to play college football.
Fred Dryer, the former Los Angeles Rams’ All-Pro, was the keynote speaker.
The event was televised by FOX Sports with Joel Klatt hosting.
Michigan will play Florida State in the Capital One Orange Bowl Dec. 30.
Previous Winners of the Lott IMPACT Trophy
2004 – David Pollack, Georgia
2005 – DeMeco Ryans, Alabama
2006 – Dante Hughes, Cal
2007 – Glenn Dorsey, LSU
2008 – James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
2009 – Jerry Hughes, TCU
2010 – J.J. Watt, Wisconsin
2011- Luke Kuechly, Boston College
2012 – Manti Te’o, Notre Dame
2013 – Anthony Barr, UCLA
2014 – Eric Kendricks, UCLA
2015 – Carl Nassib, Penn State
2016 – Jabrill Peppers, Michigan
