National Football Foundation

Position: Defensive End
Years: 1999-2001
Place of Birth: Wilson, NC
Date of Birth: January 18, 1980
Jersey Number: 49
Height: 6-7
Weight: 295
High School: Southern Nash (Bailey, NC)

A menace in the backfield with explosive speed, Julius Peppers ranks among the greatest defenders to ever play the game. The Wilson, North Carolina, native now becomes the seventh Tar Heel player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
 
A unanimous First Team All-American in 2001 and a Second Team All-American in 2000, Peppers won both the Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player and the Lombardi Award as the nation's top lineman in 2001, making him the first Tar Heel defensive player to ever win a national college football award. He was named the 2001 Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year, and he finished 10^th in the 2001 Heisman Trophy voting and was a 2001 finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which goes to the nation's top defender.
 
In 2000, he led the nation with 15 sacks and established a school record with 24 tackles for loss. The following year, Peppers led a defense that finished first in the ACC and 15^th in the nation in total defense while guiding UNC to a 16-10 victory over Auburn in the 2001 Peach Bowl.
 
A two-time First Team All-ACC selection, he led the conference in tackles for loss (24) and sacks (15) in 2000, and his 30.5 career sacks rank eighth and his 53 tackles for loss rank 15^th in ACC annals despite only playing three seasons. He holds the Heels' single-game sack record with four, and he led the team with three interceptions in 2001. His 53 career tackles for loss and 30.5 career sacks rank him second all-time at UNC. He boasts two of the top 10 single-season sack performances, ranking second with 15 in 2000 and eight with 9.5 in 2001.
 
His career totals also included 177 total tackles, five interceptions, two interceptions returned for touchdowns, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one fumble returned for a touchdown.
 
One of the top two-sport athletes in ACC history as a walk-on forward on Carolina's basketball team, Peppers averaged 7.1 points and 4.0 rebounds to help the Tar Heels claim a share of the 2001 regular-season ACC championship.
 
The second overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Carolina, Peppers played 17 seasons in the NFL with the Panthers, Bears and Packers.  He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2002, and he was a four-time First Team All-Pro, three-time Second Team All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl selection.
 
Currently residing in Coral Gables, Florida, Peppers is a special assistant to the Carolina Panthers. He donated $350,000 to the UNC Alumni Association scholarship fund, and he was the Carolina Panthers' 2018 NFL Man of the Year nominee.  He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2021, and he was named to the ACC's 50^th Anniversary Team in 2003.