Oct. 23, 2001

In its latest look at top Heisman Trophy candidates, The Sporting News rates UNC All-America defensive end Julius Peppers No. 4 behind UCLA's DeShaun Foster, Nebraska's Eric Crouch and Miami's Ken Dorsey.

The story says of Peppers, "It's rare that defensive players can dominate games on the college level, Peppers is a rare player."

Last week, Peppers was named to the ABC Sports Online and CNNSI.com Midseason All-America teams. A candidate for the Lombardi and Nagurski Awards, he has 8.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss this season. He also leads the Tar Heels and all defensive linemen in the country with three interceptions.

For more information on Peppers throughout the season, check out TarHeelBlue.com/peppers.