Octavian
6/30/2006, 04:27 PM
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Back fire:
Heisman Trophy isn't Peterson's only motivation
As Reggie Bush accepted his Heisman Trophy, Adrian Peterson was nowhere near New York. He watched Bush and finalists Matt Leinart and Vince Young on television, and it hit him: He'd gone from 2004 runner-up to completely out of the equation -- and it left him with a chip on his shoulder.
"I was sweeping my floor. It kind of just dawned on me that anything can happen and you've got to be able to handle what happens and take it for what it is," Peterson said. "I just take it for what it is and try to make up for it in any way you can."
Fully recovered from a high ankle sprain that limited his production last season, the Oklahoma junior tailback isn't making a return trip to NYC his driving force (but it's a given he'll be back if he can stay healthy). There's proving that a Peterson-led Sooners team that ended the year as one of the hottest teams in the country is again worthy of being in the national championship discussion.
"We go through workouts, all these guys. We bust our butts. Guys are sweating, blood, tears sometimes, trying to get ready for this upcoming year," Peterson said. "It's a team sport.... Winning a national championship is what matters."
And there's his family.
When Adrian was seven, he saw his brother Brian die at the hands of a drunken driver while the two were riding a bicycle. His father, Nelson, went to federal prison when Adrian was in seventh grade for laundering money obtained through the distribution of crack cocaine. He also said his grandfather had recently passed away.
"I just want to do good for them and make those people proud," Peterson said. "Stuff like that keeps me motivated and keeps me on the straight and narrow."
Come Sept. 2, though, Nelson Peterson may get to see his son play in person at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for the first time. Adrian is hopeful that his father, who is in a halfway house, will be out in time for the season opener against UAB.
"It's going to be crazy just being able to look in the stands and see him in the stands," Peterson said. "I don't know. That's maybe going to give me the extra drive that I need."
Peterson has put on 13 pounds from last year -- he's now up to 223 -- and was able to go through spring practice for the first time: He missed last spring after having offseason shoulder surgery and wasn't on campus before his first season.
"I was able to knock off a lot of rust, get better in shape and put on a little weight also," Peterson said. "Being able to go through spring for the first time really helped me out a lot."
During a freshman campaign in which he ran for 1,925 yards and finished second behind Leinart in the Heisman voting, Peterson had the luxury of playing in the same backfield as Heisman winner Jason White. A year later White was gone, the offensive line had lost three four-year starters and the focus was on the Sooners' only real threat: Peterson. He mustered 63 yards on 22 carries and injured his ankle in a shocking season-opening loss to TCU. Though he missed one game and had a three-week stretch in which he ran for 57 yards, Peterson still finished with 1,108 yards and 14 touchdowns, including 626 over the last four games of the year.
"I thought he handled [the injury] incredibly well," head coach Bob Stoops said. "Obviously I was watching very closely to see what his reactions would be dealing with the frustration. Through it all, what I appreciated, was how many times he kept trying to come back. There's a lot of superstars who would protect themselves, but that was never him."
Much of Peterson's late production was due to the emergence of then-freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar, who threw for 1,008 yards over the last five games. If Peterson is to approach the production of his first season, Bomar will have to continue to take the pressure off the running game and free Peterson up to do his thing, and Stoops is making it his main priority.
"We have to come out from Day One and have a good, strong passing game," Stoops said. "If we do, it will help our offense. We're always doing our best to be a balanced football team."
That "balance," though, will include more than a healthy dose of Peterson, who has worked during the spring on his pass catching to become a complete back.
"We're going to try to get him 2,000 yards like he did his freshman year, and we're going to try to get him another 500 or so receiving," Stoops said. "We'd like to see the guy make a lot of big plays, gain a lot of yards."
This season is not without its questions. Once again the Sooners will have to play offensive-line Sudoku as they have only one returning starter from last year -- senior left tackle Chris Messner -- and will have three sophomores and a freshman among this season's projected starters. The youth movement is forcing Peterson, who is known for his quiet demeanor and for shying away from the spotlight, to take on a more vocal approach.
"You have to start accepting the role of a leader," Peterson said. "Now I'm looking around, I look at the offensive line and I'm looking at the quarterback and the receivers and I'm seeing young guys, and you realize it came fast, but it's time for you to be a leader and be more vocal."
The Sooners' schedule should be a boost to Peterson's Heisman campaign, as well as the team's national-title chances. Oklahoma went 7-4 while playing the toughest schedule in the country last season, rebounding from a 2-3 start to reach the Holiday Bowl, where it beat Oregon. This year its only foreseeable challenges are a Sept. 16 trip to Oregon and, of course, the Red River Shootout with Texas -- though last season no one would have expected an early collapse from a team that opened the season ranked seventh in the country.
If last season's strong finish and the spring are any indication, the Sooners learned from the frustrations of last year's rocky start, but whether this is a championship-caliber team is uncertain. One thing is for sure: Adrian Peterson doesn't want to be concerned with house cleaning when the Heisman is awarded this year.
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/6782/adrianpeterson7ke.jpg ("[URL=http://imageshack.us)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/cory_mccartney/06/29/peterson.oklahoma/index.html
Back fire:
Heisman Trophy isn't Peterson's only motivation
As Reggie Bush accepted his Heisman Trophy, Adrian Peterson was nowhere near New York. He watched Bush and finalists Matt Leinart and Vince Young on television, and it hit him: He'd gone from 2004 runner-up to completely out of the equation -- and it left him with a chip on his shoulder.
"I was sweeping my floor. It kind of just dawned on me that anything can happen and you've got to be able to handle what happens and take it for what it is," Peterson said. "I just take it for what it is and try to make up for it in any way you can."
Fully recovered from a high ankle sprain that limited his production last season, the Oklahoma junior tailback isn't making a return trip to NYC his driving force (but it's a given he'll be back if he can stay healthy). There's proving that a Peterson-led Sooners team that ended the year as one of the hottest teams in the country is again worthy of being in the national championship discussion.
"We go through workouts, all these guys. We bust our butts. Guys are sweating, blood, tears sometimes, trying to get ready for this upcoming year," Peterson said. "It's a team sport.... Winning a national championship is what matters."
And there's his family.
When Adrian was seven, he saw his brother Brian die at the hands of a drunken driver while the two were riding a bicycle. His father, Nelson, went to federal prison when Adrian was in seventh grade for laundering money obtained through the distribution of crack cocaine. He also said his grandfather had recently passed away.
"I just want to do good for them and make those people proud," Peterson said. "Stuff like that keeps me motivated and keeps me on the straight and narrow."
Come Sept. 2, though, Nelson Peterson may get to see his son play in person at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for the first time. Adrian is hopeful that his father, who is in a halfway house, will be out in time for the season opener against UAB.
"It's going to be crazy just being able to look in the stands and see him in the stands," Peterson said. "I don't know. That's maybe going to give me the extra drive that I need."
Peterson has put on 13 pounds from last year -- he's now up to 223 -- and was able to go through spring practice for the first time: He missed last spring after having offseason shoulder surgery and wasn't on campus before his first season.
"I was able to knock off a lot of rust, get better in shape and put on a little weight also," Peterson said. "Being able to go through spring for the first time really helped me out a lot."
During a freshman campaign in which he ran for 1,925 yards and finished second behind Leinart in the Heisman voting, Peterson had the luxury of playing in the same backfield as Heisman winner Jason White. A year later White was gone, the offensive line had lost three four-year starters and the focus was on the Sooners' only real threat: Peterson. He mustered 63 yards on 22 carries and injured his ankle in a shocking season-opening loss to TCU. Though he missed one game and had a three-week stretch in which he ran for 57 yards, Peterson still finished with 1,108 yards and 14 touchdowns, including 626 over the last four games of the year.
"I thought he handled [the injury] incredibly well," head coach Bob Stoops said. "Obviously I was watching very closely to see what his reactions would be dealing with the frustration. Through it all, what I appreciated, was how many times he kept trying to come back. There's a lot of superstars who would protect themselves, but that was never him."
Much of Peterson's late production was due to the emergence of then-freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar, who threw for 1,008 yards over the last five games. If Peterson is to approach the production of his first season, Bomar will have to continue to take the pressure off the running game and free Peterson up to do his thing, and Stoops is making it his main priority.
"We have to come out from Day One and have a good, strong passing game," Stoops said. "If we do, it will help our offense. We're always doing our best to be a balanced football team."
That "balance," though, will include more than a healthy dose of Peterson, who has worked during the spring on his pass catching to become a complete back.
"We're going to try to get him 2,000 yards like he did his freshman year, and we're going to try to get him another 500 or so receiving," Stoops said. "We'd like to see the guy make a lot of big plays, gain a lot of yards."
This season is not without its questions. Once again the Sooners will have to play offensive-line Sudoku as they have only one returning starter from last year -- senior left tackle Chris Messner -- and will have three sophomores and a freshman among this season's projected starters. The youth movement is forcing Peterson, who is known for his quiet demeanor and for shying away from the spotlight, to take on a more vocal approach.
"You have to start accepting the role of a leader," Peterson said. "Now I'm looking around, I look at the offensive line and I'm looking at the quarterback and the receivers and I'm seeing young guys, and you realize it came fast, but it's time for you to be a leader and be more vocal."
The Sooners' schedule should be a boost to Peterson's Heisman campaign, as well as the team's national-title chances. Oklahoma went 7-4 while playing the toughest schedule in the country last season, rebounding from a 2-3 start to reach the Holiday Bowl, where it beat Oregon. This year its only foreseeable challenges are a Sept. 16 trip to Oregon and, of course, the Red River Shootout with Texas -- though last season no one would have expected an early collapse from a team that opened the season ranked seventh in the country.
If last season's strong finish and the spring are any indication, the Sooners learned from the frustrations of last year's rocky start, but whether this is a championship-caliber team is uncertain. One thing is for sure: Adrian Peterson doesn't want to be concerned with house cleaning when the Heisman is awarded this year.
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/6782/adrianpeterson7ke.jpg ("[URL=http://imageshack.us)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/cory_mccartney/06/29/peterson.oklahoma/index.html