Patrick Peterson
Patrick De'mon Peterson Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 13 seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in the country, and the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back. He is regarded as one of the greatest cornerbacks of his era.
Peterson was selected fifth overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft. A member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, Peterson was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons in the NFL and was named to the All-Pro first-team on three occasions. In 2021, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent after 10 seasons with Arizona. After two seasons with Minnesota, he spent his final season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Early life
Peterson was born in Pompano Beach, Florida on July 11, 1990. He attended Blanche Ely High School, where he played running back and defensive back. As a junior, he recorded 11 total touchdowns on offense, while recording seven interceptions and 54 tackles on defense. He returned three kick-offs for touchdowns and added 10 rushes for 213 yards. As a senior, Peterson compiled 733 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. Defensively, he had 21 tackles and five interceptions. Besides numerous All-American team selections, Peterson was named Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today and played in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.He was also on the school's track & field team, where he ran the 100 meters in 10.92 seconds and the 200 meters in 22.24 seconds. He was also a member of the 4 × 100 m relay squad.
A consensus five-star prospect by all major recruiting services, Peterson was rated as the nation's fifth-best overall player by Rivals.com and No. 8 by ESPN. Before his senior season, he verbally committed to play for the University of Miami, but continued to look at other schools. By November 2007, Peterson had reopened his recruiting process and acknowledged interest in Georgia, USC, Florida, and LSU. He later dropped Georgia and USC from his list and added Florida State, but eventually announced his decision to attend LSU at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
College career
Peterson attended Louisiana State University, where he played for coach Les Miles's LSU Tigers football team from 2008 to 2010.Freshman year
One of the most decorated high school players to ever attend LSU, Peterson played 13 games as a true freshman. On November 8, against SEC West rival Alabama, he had his first collegiate interception. He started the final four games of season, including the Chick-fil-A Bowl win over Georgia Tech. Peterson finished the season with 41 tackles, one interception, and three pass breakups, while also adding a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry.Sophomore year
In his sophomore season, Peterson emerged as one of the top defensive backs in the Southeastern Conference. On September 26, against Mississippi State, he had a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown. In a game against standout wide receiver A. J. Green of Georgia, Peterson was able to hold Green to just four catches.By mid-season, Peterson tied for fourth in the league with seven passes defended, and was named the SEC's "Most Improved Player" by ESPN's Chris Low.
Another highly anticipated match-up occurred when Peterson went against Julio Jones of Alabama. Peterson's LSU Tigers were ranked ninth in the country and traveled to face Nick Saban and the #1 ranked Crimson Tide. The Tigers were down by six points late in the fourth quarter when Peterson stepped in front of a pass from quarterback Greg McElroy to Julio Jones for what seemed like an interception. Multiple CBS camera angles showed that Peterson was able to get at least one foot in bounds. However, even after review, the SEC officiating crew called the pass incomplete, saying that Peterson was not able to get any foot in bounds. Alabama would go on to kick a field goal on that drive and won 24–15. The missed interception call quickly became infamous and was debated by many media outlets.
Peterson finished 2009 with 52 tackles. His 43 solo tackles were second on the team behind linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. Peterson returned an interception for a touchdown against Mississippi State, and he returned a blocked field goal against Ole Miss for a touchdown. He was also named a 2009 Second-Team All-American by The Sporting News, a 2009 First-Team All-SEC performer by ESPN, and a 2009 Second-Team All-SEC performer by the AP.
Junior year
Peterson was named to the preseason watch lists for the Nagurski Award, the Thorpe Award, the Ronnie Lott Award, the Walter Camp Award, and the Chuck Bednarik Award. It was announced during the summer of 2010 that Peterson would begin returning punts and kickoffs due to his size, speed, and athleticism. With this added dimension to his game and his dominance as a cornerback, Peterson began being mentioned as a dark horse for the 2010 Heisman Trophy award, presented to the best college football player every year.Peterson began his junior season against North Carolina in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The Tigers won 30–24 and Peterson was terrific. In his debut as a returner, Peterson had a school-record 257 yards returning punts and kickoffs, 244 yards coming in the first half. He returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown and consistently gave the Tigers' offense good field position. His 257-yard performance ranks second all-time in the SEC behind Mississippi State's Nick Turner and his 266-yard performance. Peterson was named Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. He was also named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week.
Peterson had two punt returns against Vanderbilt for eight yards in week two as the Tigers rolled past the Commodores. He also returned two kickoffs for 51 yards, to go along with one tackle.
In week three of the 2010 season, the 2–0 Tigers hosted 1–1 Mississippi State for LSU's first home game of the year. The Tiger defense suffocated Mississippi State's offense and Peterson strengthened his campaign with two acrobatic interceptions for LSU. He also returned one kickoff 39 yards and one punt 2 yards to go along with four solo tackles.
Peterson entertained the home crowd again in week four against Top-25 foe West Virginia. With the game tied 0–0 early in the first quarter, West Virginia went to attempt a mid-range field goal, and Peterson was able to leap from behind the line of scrimmage and block the kick. The Tiger defense forced West Virginia to punt later in the half. Peterson fielded the punt on his own 40-yard line and raced 60 yards up the middle of the field for a touchdown and a 17–0 LSU lead. Peterson struck the Heisman pose in the north end zone of Tiger Stadium, drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Peterson was almost single-handedly responsible for 10 points in the game that ended with LSU winning 20–14. The national sports media began comparing Peterson to Woodson, who actually had worse statistics than Peterson through his first four games during his Heisman winning season. Peterson was again named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. He also recorded 1 solo tackle.
Week five saw the LSU Tigers take on the Tennessee Volunteers. Peterson and the LSU defense limited Tennessee to 217 yards of offense and the Tigers won 16–14. Peterson recorded 1 solo tackle and 3 assisted tackles. He had 3 punt returns for 30 yards and 3 kickoff returns for 64 yards. The LSU Tigers improved to 5–0 and 3–0 in the SEC with the victory over the Volunteers.
Peterson's efforts helped the Tigers to a No. 12 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 as well as a #9 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25. Through week 5 of the 2010 season, he was 3rd in Division I-A in punt return average at 23.6 yards per attempt, 1st in punt return touchdowns with 2, and 22nd in kickoff return average at 28.2 yards per attempt. Peterson was also tied for 30th in the country with two interceptions. He was in the top five of most straw polls regarding the 2010 Heisman Trophy. In an effort to jumpstart the struggling offense for the Tigers, Peterson practiced as a wide receiver and a running back on offense.
On October 9, against the Florida Gators, Peterson had four kick returns for 106 net yards, one punt return, and one total tackle in the 33–29 victory. In the next game, against the McNeese State Cowboys, he had two kick returns for 63 net yards and two punt returns for 34 net yards, to go along with one tackle. In the following game, against Auburn, he had four kick returns for 99 net yards, two punt returns for 18 net yards, and three total tackles. On November 6, against Alabama, he had two kick returns for 45 net yards, two punt returns for 22 net yards, eight total tackles, and three passes defended in the 24–21 victory. The next week, against Louisiana–Monroe, he had three punt returns for 31 net yards, one total tackle, and an interception that was returned 85 yards. In the following game, against Ole Miss, he had four kick returns for 121 net yards, three punt returns for 30 net yards, four total tackles, and one interception. On November 27, against Arkansas, he had four kick returns for 163 net yards, three total tackles, and one pass defensed. In his final collegiate game, the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M, he had three kick returns for 81 net yards to go along with six total tackles.
Following the season, he was a first-team All-SEC selection and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American. His 934 kickoff return yards and 29.1 yards per return average both ranked second in the SEC, while his 418 punt return yards and 16.1 yards per return average each ranked first.