colleyvillesooner
10/17/2006, 09:45 AM
Per Tulsa World
Adrian Peterson's mom, Bonita Jackson, broke her leg Saturday.
You think Saturday was a bad day for Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson? You don't know the half of it.
After Peterson broke his collarbone diving into the end zone against Iowa State, possibly ending his college career, his family went ahead with postgame plans for a reunion; just a little get together to pick up everyone's spirits.
But during the reunion, while shooting hoops at a nearby basketball court, Adrian's mother, Bonita Jackson, came down wrong and broke both bones in her lower leg.
"It was a bad day," said Peterson's father, Nelson, who earlier in the day watched his son play football in person for the first time in more than eight years. "She went in for a layup and I think she stepped on somebody's foot. Broke it in two places. I was like, 'Man, son's collarbone is broke, his mother broke her leg in two places. I guess it's time for Daddy to sit down, take it easy, watch football and make sure nothing else happens.' "
Jackson, reached by telephone at her home in Purcell, said she's on pain medication and will be at home for a while. Her prognosis is about the same as her son's: 4-6 weeks. OU coach Bob Stoops said Adrian Peterson probably won't be able to play for 6-8 weeks, which could cost him the final six games of the regular season and might even keep him out of a bowl game. Teammates said Monday Peterson's mood was low.
"I'm OK," Jackson said. "I'm just worried about him. I just want to be there for him."
Indeed, Adrian Peterson's future -- from the next six weeks to the next six years and beyond -- is up in the air. Could he be back for the season-finale against Oklahoma State? Will he be OK to play in a bowl? Would he want to? Will he instead sign with an agent and leave school immediately? Will he return for his senior year or spend 2007 as an NFL rookie?
"You're asking questions that I think are too early for him to know what he wants to do," Stoops said. "He needs time to sift through what he wants to do, how he wants to finish and what all the possibilities are."
There is public discussion that perhaps Peterson has already been contacted by agents seeking to represent him professionally. The contact itself is not against any rules, but signing a contract or accepting money or favors is. Nelson Peterson, however -- interviewed at the Edmond car dealership at which he works -- said if anyone has designs on making money off his son, they'll have to go through him first.
Nelson Peterson said there has been no contact yet from agents, but, "Basically, I have made a request: Don't call Adrian. And if you call Adrian and I find out about it, we're not going to deal with you. Your chances of representing him, if he decides to come out, just won't be. He doesn't need that right now. Not during the season and especially not right now."
Conventional wisdom suggests Peterson will forego his senior season at Oklahoma for the draft, and most observers say he'll be one of the top five players picked -- a slot that in the past two years has produced incentive-laden contracts worth between $40 million and $60 million.
Some experts said it was likely that Peterson already had been contacted by agents, even long before his latest injury. Should Peterson withdraw from school right now and sign with an agent? Or should he stick around for the rest of the season, finish the semester and possibly return for a bowl game?
"To me, I've seen enough to know whether the guy can play or can't play," said one NFL scout, who asked his name be withheld. "It would be nice for him and nice for Oklahoma to play in a bowl game. But why?
"He's such a nice person. If he was a jackass, I could understand (taking the money now). But the guy is not. You know? He's going to be all right, I think. I'd like to have him."
Stoops acknowledged that professional agents might "be more aggressive. But I believe they have been anyway. I believe those elements have been out there, talking about agents and their runners and the marketing people and everybody else. I'm sure they already have been, for two years, trying to get to him. But I have a hard enough time sometimes finding A.D. myself."
Peterson usually speaks to the press Monday after practice but was not available this week, so he couldn't answer whether chasing Billy Sims' school record for career rushing yards was important enough to return for a bowl game.
Gil Brandt, NFL.com senior analyst and for 30 years vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, said some in the game have a theory that "a guy's just got so many runs in him."
But, Brandt said, "I would hope he tries to come back for a bowl game. I think that enhances your draft status. Because it shows you're dedicated and you're a team player."
The injury itself won't deter the NFL.
"A collarbone is not a knee," Brandt said. "I don't think there's any way the injury hurts (Peterson's NFL draft status) at all. The only way it hurts him is the chance to get all the postseason honors that he deserves."
Brandt said Peterson showed a special quality last summer when he was named Playboy All-American and the team assembled for a photo shoot.
"Friday night when we're down there, we make these guys play ping pong and shoot baskets and hit golf balls and throw baseballs and everything," Brandt said, "and I mean this guy, it was like he was competing in the Olympics. I'm a big Peterson fan."
Some think Peterson may be prone to injuries. But a dislocated shoulder didn't slow him as a freshman, and a high ankle sprain healed in three weeks last season. The collarbone injury was a freak occurrence. In fact, the scout said the injury might actually help his draft potential. "Just for the simple reason," the scout said, "he wouldn't be so beat up as he would normally be."
Adrian Peterson's mom, Bonita Jackson, broke her leg Saturday.
You think Saturday was a bad day for Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson? You don't know the half of it.
After Peterson broke his collarbone diving into the end zone against Iowa State, possibly ending his college career, his family went ahead with postgame plans for a reunion; just a little get together to pick up everyone's spirits.
But during the reunion, while shooting hoops at a nearby basketball court, Adrian's mother, Bonita Jackson, came down wrong and broke both bones in her lower leg.
"It was a bad day," said Peterson's father, Nelson, who earlier in the day watched his son play football in person for the first time in more than eight years. "She went in for a layup and I think she stepped on somebody's foot. Broke it in two places. I was like, 'Man, son's collarbone is broke, his mother broke her leg in two places. I guess it's time for Daddy to sit down, take it easy, watch football and make sure nothing else happens.' "
Jackson, reached by telephone at her home in Purcell, said she's on pain medication and will be at home for a while. Her prognosis is about the same as her son's: 4-6 weeks. OU coach Bob Stoops said Adrian Peterson probably won't be able to play for 6-8 weeks, which could cost him the final six games of the regular season and might even keep him out of a bowl game. Teammates said Monday Peterson's mood was low.
"I'm OK," Jackson said. "I'm just worried about him. I just want to be there for him."
Indeed, Adrian Peterson's future -- from the next six weeks to the next six years and beyond -- is up in the air. Could he be back for the season-finale against Oklahoma State? Will he be OK to play in a bowl? Would he want to? Will he instead sign with an agent and leave school immediately? Will he return for his senior year or spend 2007 as an NFL rookie?
"You're asking questions that I think are too early for him to know what he wants to do," Stoops said. "He needs time to sift through what he wants to do, how he wants to finish and what all the possibilities are."
There is public discussion that perhaps Peterson has already been contacted by agents seeking to represent him professionally. The contact itself is not against any rules, but signing a contract or accepting money or favors is. Nelson Peterson, however -- interviewed at the Edmond car dealership at which he works -- said if anyone has designs on making money off his son, they'll have to go through him first.
Nelson Peterson said there has been no contact yet from agents, but, "Basically, I have made a request: Don't call Adrian. And if you call Adrian and I find out about it, we're not going to deal with you. Your chances of representing him, if he decides to come out, just won't be. He doesn't need that right now. Not during the season and especially not right now."
Conventional wisdom suggests Peterson will forego his senior season at Oklahoma for the draft, and most observers say he'll be one of the top five players picked -- a slot that in the past two years has produced incentive-laden contracts worth between $40 million and $60 million.
Some experts said it was likely that Peterson already had been contacted by agents, even long before his latest injury. Should Peterson withdraw from school right now and sign with an agent? Or should he stick around for the rest of the season, finish the semester and possibly return for a bowl game?
"To me, I've seen enough to know whether the guy can play or can't play," said one NFL scout, who asked his name be withheld. "It would be nice for him and nice for Oklahoma to play in a bowl game. But why?
"He's such a nice person. If he was a jackass, I could understand (taking the money now). But the guy is not. You know? He's going to be all right, I think. I'd like to have him."
Stoops acknowledged that professional agents might "be more aggressive. But I believe they have been anyway. I believe those elements have been out there, talking about agents and their runners and the marketing people and everybody else. I'm sure they already have been, for two years, trying to get to him. But I have a hard enough time sometimes finding A.D. myself."
Peterson usually speaks to the press Monday after practice but was not available this week, so he couldn't answer whether chasing Billy Sims' school record for career rushing yards was important enough to return for a bowl game.
Gil Brandt, NFL.com senior analyst and for 30 years vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, said some in the game have a theory that "a guy's just got so many runs in him."
But, Brandt said, "I would hope he tries to come back for a bowl game. I think that enhances your draft status. Because it shows you're dedicated and you're a team player."
The injury itself won't deter the NFL.
"A collarbone is not a knee," Brandt said. "I don't think there's any way the injury hurts (Peterson's NFL draft status) at all. The only way it hurts him is the chance to get all the postseason honors that he deserves."
Brandt said Peterson showed a special quality last summer when he was named Playboy All-American and the team assembled for a photo shoot.
"Friday night when we're down there, we make these guys play ping pong and shoot baskets and hit golf balls and throw baseballs and everything," Brandt said, "and I mean this guy, it was like he was competing in the Olympics. I'm a big Peterson fan."
Some think Peterson may be prone to injuries. But a dislocated shoulder didn't slow him as a freshman, and a high ankle sprain healed in three weeks last season. The collarbone injury was a freak occurrence. In fact, the scout said the injury might actually help his draft potential. "Just for the simple reason," the scout said, "he wouldn't be so beat up as he would normally be."