dpj.jpg
Michigan freshman receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones poses for a quick picture with his mother, Roslyn Peoples, after practice Thursday in Rome.
(Nick Baumgardner | MLive)
ROME -- Donovan Peoples-Jones turned more heads without ever running a route than just about anyone on campus this winter.
The Michigan freshman receiver from Detroit clocked in with a sub 4.4-second 40-yard dash during the team's mock combine, putting him as the fastest player on the team. Before he even strapped up his helmet for a practice.
He didn't stop there, though, he also had the highest vertical leap. Athletically, Peoples-Jones has lived up to his five-star billing so far.
Overall, he's making progress on the field, too. But the Cass Tech product is a perfectionist. And he knows he's not where he needs to be right now.
"I need to get better, I need to continue to work on the little things that'll separate me from everybody else," he said Thursday. "I'm always looking for more. I'm always trying to find an edge."
Peoples-Jones is with the team in Rome this week, though he did not practice with Michigan in a helmets-only workout Thursday at Olympic Center Giulio Onesti. He declined to provide a specific reason, but a Michigan spokesman did say the freshman receiver had a minor muscle tweak -- and opted to sit Thursday's workout.
He declined to provide a specific reason, but a Michigan spokesman did say the freshman receiver had a minor muscle tweak -- and opted to sit Thursday's workout.
Either way, he's been in action plenty for Michigan this spring -- including a productive spring game with a pair of catches earlier this month.
Right now, the biggest thing he's working on is his overall route running. His technique, his crispness and his knowledge of the different plays and concepts Michigan runs.
In high school, Peoples-Jones was fast enough to blow by anyone he faced off the line of scrimmage. All the quarterback had to do from there was toss it up and let him go get it.
It's different on this level.
"Everybody's quicker, faster," he said. "Everybody seems to be quicker and stronger. ... My route running and my transition from catching the ball (and turning up field both need to improve)."
Meantime, Peoples-Jones is currently loving life with his teammates in Italy.
His mother, Roslyn Peoples, made the trip over herself and had a chance to see her son with the team Thursday at practice.
He didn't come with the team Sunday due to a final exam, so he hasn't been on every tour stop with the group. But he's seen plenty, including Michigan's trip to Vatican City for the papal address Wednesday.
He won't stay overseas for another trip, as he'll need to return to Ann Arbor and prepare for more classes. Peoples-Jones, a 3.9 GPA student, picked Michigan in part because of its excellent medical program -- as he'd like to become a surgeon one day.
The class schedule will ramp up sooner than later, and so will the football.
But life, in general, is good for the country's top-ranked 2017 receiver prospect. And he's glad to be a Wolverine.
"It's been going pretty good, I've been here three or four months out of high school and I've had a lot of fun," he said. "I'm surrounded by really great people who know what they're doing and they all just want to help me succeed."