| Editor's note: Throughout the season, Pro Football Weekly will run a
continuing series of articles spotlighting top prospects for the 2002 draft. 
Georgia Southern RB Adrian Peterson has never been the type to work hard to get
attention.
As a kid, he was content to stand in the shadow of his older brother, Mike, a two-time
All-SEC performer at the University of Florida, now a starting linebacker for the
Indianapolis Colts. On the heels of a stellar high-school football career in Florida,
Adrian remained in the shadows.
The University of Georgia took a pass. Florida broke the family legacy because it
wouldn’t hold a scholarship. Others didn’t give Adrian Peterson as much as a
second look.
"By the time you hear him coming, it might be too late," said Mike Peterson,
the 36th draft choice of the Colts in 1999, about younger brother Adrian.
One school took notice; Division I-AA Georgia Southern.
"He was a tremendous high school player," said Golden Eagles coach Paul
Johnson of the former Florida Class 4A Player of the Year at Santa Fe High School.
"We knew he was going to be a good football player. I don’t know that anybody
knew he was going to be this good."
How good is this good? Peterson, 21, has produced two I-AA national
championships, the division’s all-time rushing record with more than 8,000 total
rushing yards, 100 yards rushing in all but two of his 59 collegiate games and 118
touchdowns. These are the things schools such as Florida and Georgia missed out on.
"A lot of people expected he would end up at Florida," said Georgia Southern
offensive coordinator Mike Sewak.
The Gators weren’t able to hold a scholarship for Peterson, who didn’t
receive his qualifying scores until a week after national signing day arrived his senior
year of high school. The only school other than GSU waiting when Adrian received the news
that he had qualified was South Carolina State. Peterson decided that Statesboro, Ga. was
the place for him.
"He knew that was the way things sometimes go with big-time scholarships,"
Mike Peterson said. "He doesn’t hold any grudges, he just goes out and proves it
every week. Obviously, Georgia Southern stuck with him. They don’t regret it now, but
I’m sure those D-I schools do. They wish they would have waited a week."
Oh, Adrian was worth the wait. In all, the man nicknamed the A-Train is the proud owner
of 110 team, conference or division records. In Statesboro, and throughout Division I-AA
football, the goal is to be playing in Chattanooga, the site of the annual I-AA
championship game. Peterson took the Golden Eagles three times, winning twice. A fourth
trip was derailed last Saturday in the semifinals when the Eagles were upset by Furman,
24-17. Peterson was held to 68 yards on 18 carries.
"If he would have gone to a D-I school," Mike Peterson added, "he would
have produced even more. He would have had a chance to showcase his skills. This is
nothing against Georgia Southern, but we all know that it is smaller than Florida, smaller
than Georgia. When he gets to play against the bigger schools, I tell him, ‘It’s
your time to shine. Do what you do.’ "
Adrian’s name was mentioned in Heisman Trophy chatter in the preseason, but that
talk slowed as the season continued. Detractors continued to bring up opponents such as
Appalachian State, Elon College and Wofford as reasons why Peterson was not worthy of the
award.
"I coached in I-A for 10 years," said Johnson, who has coached at Hawaii and
Navy. "There is not a hand’s-turn difference between our program and most of
those teams. We’ve played a couple of name-brand teams and he put up better numbers
against them than some of the I-AA teams because he was in there for a full four
quarters."
When Peterson got a chance to take the field against Georgia, he posted 156 yards
rushing. He also rolled up 182 on Oregon State.
Georgia DT Marcus Stroud, a first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, called
Peterson "a great back" and then-UGA coach Jim Donnan said: "It’s like
playing against Michael Jordan. I don’t think anyone can shut him down."
When Peterson’s name arises in NFL scouting circles, questions are plentiful. For
example: How are his hands? Scouts haven’t been able to answer that question with
game tape, as Peterson has just caught five passes in 13 games this season without gaining
a yard.
The obvious defense from Johnson is that Peterson, or any other back, is rarely asked
to catch the football in the triple-option offense.
"He has great hands, he can catch the ball," Johnson said. "We really
don’t throw to that position a lot. But I can tell you he wouldn’t have trouble
catching the ball eight or 10 times a game if you asked him to do that."
OK, how about his speed? Peterson, listed as a fullback with GSU, has run a 4.6 40-yard
dash. That compares favorably to a time turned in by power back Eddie George prior to the
1996 draft. The difference in such a comparison is that George is 6-foot-3, 238 as a
senior; Peterson is a stretch at 5-10, 210 pounds. And then there is the fact that George
put up big numbers against the likes of Michigan, Penn State and Illinois. Peterson’s
legend is built upon gaudy numbers against Florida A&M, Delaware and Western Carolina.
"I think he would have been great at Florida," said Gil Brandt, former Dallas
Cowboys personnel guru. "He honored the commitment to Georgia Southern and played
very well there. Now, what you don’t know, is how do games against Montana and those
performances against good teams translate to what it would have been had he gone to a
Florida or Michigan."
Mike Peterson remembers taking "the little guy" to backyard football games
with his friends, who were three grade levels ahead of Adrian in school. Back in those
days, Adrian was only handed the ball when "we needed an extra guy to play
with."
In April, one NFL team will take Adrian despite the classification that got him there.
If the past is any indication, they won’t regret it.
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