Julius Peppers

Julius Peppers attended Southern Nash High School in Bailey, N.C. He went on to attend the University of North Carolina where he majored in Afro-American studies. Aside from football, Peppers played basketball for the Tar Heels in 1999 as a freshman and in 2000 as a sophomore. He was named the nation's top two-sport athlete by The Sporting News in 2001 in a vote of Division I basketball coaches. Peppers started 33 of the 34 games played in three seasons for North Carolina football and finished his career ranked second all-time in Tar Heels history with 30.5 sacks. He won the Lombardi Award, given to the nation's top lineman, and the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the nation's best overall defensive player as a junior. Peppers was a finalist for the Nagurski Award, awarded by the Football Writers Association to college football's best defensive player and was unanimous All-America and All-ACC first team choice. In 1999, he was a Freshman All-America choice by The Sporting News. Peppers was selected in the first round (second overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft by Carolina (4/20/02). He went on to set numerous records over his long, brilliant career. He tallied one sack vs. Philadelphia (10/12/17), marking his 150th career sack, becoming the only player in NFL history with at least 150 sacks and 10 interceptions. Julius Peppers, Bruce Smith, Reggie White and Kevin Greene as the only players in NFL history with 10 10-sack seasons. Peppers was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year by AP in 2002 after recording 12 sacks in his debut season. He currently ranks fourth in NFL history with 159.5 career sacks. Peppers was also named AP First Team All-Pro 3x (2010, 2006, 2004) and was voted to the Pro Bowl 9x (2015, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004). He played 17 NFL seasons (10 with Carolina)."