CANTON, Ohio – They sat a few feet apart Friday afternoon in their latest pre-enshrinement media responsibility, and less than 24 hours later their bronze busts would reside in the hallowed room at the Pro Football Hall of Fame reserved for the very best of the best.
Dwight Freeney and Julius Peppers are proof there’s no mold for a Hall of Fame pass rusher.
Peppers was the unquestioned prototypical defensive end: 6-7, 295 pounds. The Carolina Panthers selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in 2002.
Freeney played at 6-1, 268 pounds, and the 6-1 is being generous. Bill Polian, Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts looked at Freeney’s quick-twitch speed and not his lack of height. They drafted him 11th overall in that same draft.
And here they are, members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.
“Everybody has a different lane,’’ Peppers said. “Everybody is unique in their own way. Everybody’s special in their own way.’’
He doesn’t label himself a pass rusher, despite 159.5 sacks. Only Bruce Smith, Reggie White and Kevin Greene have more in NFL history.
“Versatility was my focal point,’’ Peppers said. “I could do everything.’’
Freeney recently considered the diametrically opposed body types of two members of the Class of 2024, who will be enshrined Saturday.
“Totally different; 100%,’’ he said. “I’m not doing any of his moves. I can’t do his moves and he can’t do my moves.
“But it doesn’t matter because in the end, we both got it done. We’re both here.’’
The contrasting size issue had a hand in Freeney deciding football, not his beloved basketball, would take him wherever he would go athletically.
He was a relentless whirling dervish who realized at Bloomfield (Conn.) High School there wasn’t much of a future for an undersized Charles Barkley/Charles Oakley wannabe.
“I played power forward,’’ Freeney said. “A Charles Barkley without the jumper or the offensive game. I was kind of like that guy, ‘I know I’m not going to be a 6-1 power forward in college. That’s not happening.’ I couldn’t shoot that good.
“That’s when I had with that dream, to let it go.’’
Freeney was a mad follower of And1 Mixtapes in the 1990s, which is the genesis of his legendary spin move that generated 125.5 career sacks, 18th in NFL history.
“It was street basketball,’’ he noted, with a heavy emphasis on Harlem Globetrotters-style moves. Dribbling was optional.
That proved so beneficial to embarrassing offensive tackles, but detrimental to a possible career in basketball.
“I kept doing the spin move in the post,’’ he said with a smile, “and I kept getting called for traveling so I had to give up the sport.’’
The And1 Mixtapes influence, he added, “let me kind of express my creativity.’’
Conversely, Peppers was a beast regardless the sport. He was an All-American defensive end at North Carolina who led the nation with 15 sacks in 2000, and a walk-on with the Tar Heels basketball team. Peppers was a member of the 2000 Final Four squad, and in a 2001 second-round tournament loss to Penn State he generated 21 points and 10 rebounds.
However, his athletic path crystalized when NFL draft projections went through the roof.
“Nobody had to tell me what to choose,’’ Peppers said. “Football chose me. When the projections came out for the draft after my junior year of football, I knew it was time to make a decision to take the football route.
“The game told me.’’
It was a solid move. Peppers earned nearly $160 million during his 17-year career.
Freeney earned nearly $98 million in 16 seasons.
If he had grown to 6-4, maybe 6-5? Might he have done something on the hardwood?
“Yeah, I could have done something,’’ Freeney said with a laugh. “I might have fouled out early in the second quarter, do the traveling.
“I was a defensive guy. That’s what I was. I had no feel, no touch. If you wanted me to dunk, I could probably dunk. That’s about it.’’
Near the end of the media session, a reporter mentioned how Peppers and Freeney each played basketball at a high level. So, why switch to football?
Freeney paused, then smiled broadly. He knew better.
“I didn’t play at a high level,’’ he said. “I played in high school. He played at a high level. My level was not high. Very low. Very low level.
“(Peppers) could do both. Absolutely. (I’m) jealous.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.