CHARLOTTE — Legendary football player Julius Peppers got his start on the gridiron in Bailey, North Carolina a few decades ago. This week, he will get the ultimate honor when he’s inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Channel 9 is looking into the history of Julius Peppers’ journey from the Carolinas to Canton. Hear from his former coaches and teammates about his style of play, and how he made a name for himself at UNC and with the Carolina Panthers.
Courting from the basketball court
When Julius got to ninth grade at Southern Nash High School in Bailey, it was expected that he would show up to try out for football.
He was described as a “man among boys” but he didn’t want to play football. He wanted to play basketball.
Julius was blessed with skills on the court, he was a kid that could get off the floor and rebound, and dunk in front of crowds.
But despite that, his mentor and longtime friend Brian Foster told him, “With your size and gifts and movements, you’d be a perfect defensive end.”
Julius worried that he wouldn’t get enough attention at Southern Nash, but Foster told him with his athleticism and abilities, he’d get a scholarship no matter where he was. He ended up getting statewide recognition for his excellence in three different sports: football, basketball, and track.
>>Hear from Foster and Julius’ high school coaches in the first part of our special at the top of this page.
UNC gets a star, Julius makes a choice
Julius always knew he wanted to be a basketball player for the University of North Carolina.
“You grow up in this state and they don’t gravitate towards college football, they gravitate generally towards college basketball, so as a young boy, I can imagine Julius playing pickup and imagining that he’s James Worthy or Antwan Jamison or Vince Carter, Michael Jordan,” said former UNC basketball coach Matt Doherty.
But he made waves as a football player too, and his skills were desired on the field.
Former UNC football coach Mack Brown said, “He knew he had to play one to get to the other.”
Julius would play pickup basketball games with other football and basketball players, even jamming up a seven-foot-tall center, according to one of his football position coaches, Donnie Thompson.
Doherty said Julius could have played in the National Basketball Association if he focused full-time on basketball.
Even Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Julius gave a challenge to his players.
“He had a charisma, he had a personality on the court where he loved to play and he loved to compete, you not only saw it in his body movements, you saw it in his face and how he talked. He gave energy, he was an energy giver not an energy taker, and so whenever he was on the court, his team was better.”
But even after a run to the Final Four, Julius had to make a choice between playing his favorite sport or the chance at making a million dollars in the NFL draft.
Homegrown hero
The Carolina Panthers were coming off of a dreadful 1-15 season and would’ve had the top pick if not for the Houston Texans’ expansion draft.
Julius Peppers was coming off of a hot college career, earning Bednarik and Lombardi awards along with making a run at the Heisman Trophy.
“I thought he was a tremendous prospect, such a good athlete, and really a rare guy,” said Dom Capers, former Panthers coach and then-head coach of the newly formed Houston Texans.
Then-Panthers Head Coach John Fox called Julius “fascinating” and said he could see his competitiveness during his pro day in Chapel Hill.
Instead of taking a quarterback, Fox’s Panthers selected Julius with the 2nd overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.
Julius made an impact almost immediately in his first game with a combo play turnover involving now-Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan. It wouldn’t be long before he became famous among NFL fans.
But it wasn’t just his hard-hitting performances that earned him respect.
“The one thing that I loved about Pep, he was just a good dude, he was fun to be around, he loved being around the guys, I think he just loved being a part of the team and loved the game of football,” said former Panthers teammate Luke Kuechly.
>>Channel 9′s Phil Orban and DaShawn Brown speak with Julius’ former teammates and coaches about the impacts he made on the field and in his life. See their interviews in the special at the top of this page.
High school highlights to NFL accolades
(Tap the plaques to see the NFL awards Julius earned, and see the high school highlight tape that started it all.)
Since the Pro Football Hall of Fame was first established in 1963, just 362 people have been inducted.
Enshrinement Week starts Thursday with the 2024 Hall of Fame Game. Peppers will be officially enshrined into the NFL Hall of Fame at noon on Saturday.
>>Watch the full special, ’From the Carolinas to Canton’ at the top of this page.
(VIDEO: HOF inductee, former Panther Julius Peppers says consistency leads to greatness)
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