Now everyone knows why.

"When he walks on the court," said UNC basketball player Jason Capel, "you know he's there. He's definitely a presence, definitely a big body.

"Just look at him. He's enough to intimidate anybody."

Peppers (6-6, 270 pounds) earned the status of Freshman All-American in his first year as a Tar Heel defensive end. He had four sacks in a game against Wake Forest and finished the season with six.

Then when football season ended, he joined the Tar Heel basketball team and helped save Carolina's season. He brought a powerful, yet graceful, game to the floor in basketball.

Julius Peppers(Provided to SportsLine)

Until he came along, teams had pushed the Tar Heel big men around. That stopped when Peppers took the floor. Butting heads in basketball was no big chore after slamming into 300-pound linemen all year in football.

"It's nothing to bump these guys around," Peppers said, smiling.

The Tar Heels were certainly happy to get him. His presence helped them reach the Final Four.

In football, Peppers just started to scratch the surface of his talent toward the end of last season.

"The year in basketball will help him be a better football player in the fall," said football coach Carl Torbush. "The guys who played basketball in the past, I felt like their speed, quickness, agility and flexibility was a lot better after coming back from basketball."

One thing is for sure: Peppers has already proven he is one of the finest athletes to come out of the state of North Carolina.

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