Michigan's Jabrill Peppers will not play in Friday's Capital One Orange Bowl against Florida State.
Peppers, a first-team Sporting News All-American for the Wolverines, was held out with an apparent injury. Peppers tried to warm up before the game but will not play.
(UPDATE: ESPN.com's Adam Schefter reported Friday night that Peppers tweaked a hamstring during practice Thursday. A source told Schefter the injury is not considered serious. Other sources told ESPN.com that Peppers' absence is not the same as LSU's Leonard Fournette and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey skipping bowl games to protect their health.)
Peppers, a linebacker who played multiple positions this season, led the Wolverines with 16 tackles for loss and had 751 all-purpose yards. He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
That’s a blow for the Wolverines’ defense, which will try to contain Florida State running back Dalvin Cook.
(UPDATE 2: A tearful Peppers told reporters (via the Detroit Free Press) after the game he "couldn't even run" and said he would have played if he was "at least 80 percent" healthy. He also said his NFL prospects did not play a role in his decision, noting that he has insurance. He added that he has not decided whether to enter the NFL Draft. "My future didn't play any role in this," he said. "I still don't even know what I'm going to do yet.")
