From UNC to the NFL to a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

A North Carolina native, Julius Peppers will go down as one of the state’s all-time greats.

On Feb. 8, Peppers was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. He will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 3.

Peppers, who played for the Tar Heels from 1999-2001, was an All-American and won the Chuck Bednarik Award for the nation’s top defensive player in 2001. He racked up 177 tackles, 30.5 sacks, 53 tackles for loss, five interceptions and five forced fumbles at UNC.

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Selected by the Carolina Panthers with the second overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, Peppers was a Pro Bowler in nine of his 17 seasons. He is the only player in league history to record more than 150 sacks and 10 or more interceptions in a career.  He finished with 159.5 sacks, 52 forced fumbles and 11 interceptions.

During a 30-minute video call via Zoom on Wednesday, Peppers answered questions from reporters about his NFL career and more. Here are some of the highlights from that interview, which was edited for brevity and clarity.

Julius Peppers’ mentality after being picked by the Carolina Panthers

At that time, there were a lot of questions about what kind of player I was … there was a lot of doubt and skepticism. There were questions about if I was worthy of being taken that high. My main motivation and thought at that time was to come in and prove that I belonged, prove that I was one of the better players to come out of that draft. … I felt like I should have went No. 1, but it worked out that I was able to come here.

What Julius Peppers said about his UNC football memories

That was a great moment in my life, as a young kid being in Chapel Hill. I look back on it now and I really didn’t know what I was doing. I think about going from football season and straight into basketball season. … I think about my teammates a lot from football and basketball, and the coaches, because those are the things you carry – the things that you remember the most.

Peppers on being in the spotlight

It’s been a great couple of months. I understand that with those types of honors, certain obligations come with it. It’s not my favorite thing to do – to film all of those things for NFL Films and stuff like that and do so much media this past weekend at the Super Bowl – but I understand it comes with it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It’s not something that I have to do every year. I’m fine with doing it now, and I’m happy to do it.

Julius Peppers’ favorite moments with the Panthers

I gotta say the Super Bowl, even though we came up a little short (against the New England Patriots). That was probably my favorite moment. … Not necessarily having that awareness at the time to realize how hard it was to get there, and just playing, we had a lot of fun during that (2003) season. A lot of great memories from that season.

Advice from Carolina Panthers coach John Fox

(Former Carolina Panthers coach John Fox would say) nobody’s gonna come to save us. Nobody’s gonna come save you. If you’re going through a hard time in the season, you gotta figure out a way to get it done. … I took that with me throughout my career.

Did Peppers ever envision this moment?

Making the Hall of Fame was never a goal of mine. That’s just something that you don’t do. You put your head down and you do the work throughout the season. Throughout the years, you just try to keep doing it. Anybody can have one of two good seasons, but the great ones do it consistently. That’s what I tried to strive for. … I never imagined that it would happen like this.

Who will present Julius Peppers at the Hall of Fame?

We haven’t made a decision on that yet. (John Fox) is definitely one of the guys that I think about, that I would like to do it. But I’m not sure yet.

Could Julius Peppers have played in the NBA?

It’s been well documented that basketball was my first love. It was one of those things where I had to give it up for my best interests. Yeah, that’s your dream to play in the NBA and you probably could do it if you wanted to. But it’s probably not the best move for you. I think I could have played and had a pretty solid career, but it wouldn’t have been All-Star or Hall-of-Fame type level. I think it definitely was the right choice to give it up and go the football route.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Julius Peppers talks UNC, Carolina Panthers, Pro Football Hall of Fame