One of the best football players ever from North Carolina will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Julius Peppers, from Southern Nash High School, will receive his gold jacket and bust during the 12:00 p.m. ceremony.

Peppers retired from the NFL in February of 2019 after a 17-year career. Former players are not eligible for the Hall of Fame until five years after their retirement. Peppers was elected to hall on his first ballot opportunity.

He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. Peppers also went on to play for the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. The defensive end finished his career with 159.5 sacks, the fourth most in NFL history. He recorded 716 tackles as a whole. His 51 forced fumbles is the second-most in league history. Peppers played in 97.8% of his possible games. His 266 games played is the sixth-most for a defensive player all-time.

Southern Nash High School is in Stanhope, a small community about 40 minutes east of Raleigh.

At Southern Nash, the iconic pass rusher made his name as a different kind of rusher. Peppers rushed for over 3,500 yards and scored 46 touchdowns over three seasons on the Firebirds’ varsity team.

As a basketball player, Peppers recorded 1,661 career points and over 950 rebounds. In track and field, Peppers helped Southern Nash win the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A state championship in the 4×400 meter relay.

Peppers was named the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s Male Athlete of the Year for the 1997-1998 season.

Legendary WRAL sports figure Bob Holliday has argued that Peppers is the best North Carolina athlete ever.

Peppers graduated from Southern Nash in 1998 and went on to play college football and basketball at the University of North Carolina, where, you guessed it, he had a great career. He was a First-team All-American in 2000, when he led the nation with 15 sacks. Peppers is UNC’s second all-time leading defender in sacks with 30.5. As a basketball player at Carolina, Peppers averaged 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds over two full seasons.

Source: highschoolot.com