Adrian Nicholas Peterson (born July 1, 1979) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

and United Football League. He was drafted by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in the sixth round of the

2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...

, playing eight seasons for Chicago. Then he played for the Virginia Destroyers in the UFL. He is an alumnus of

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hine ...

, where he set numerous school,

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

, and

NCAA Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

records, as well winning two 1-AA National Championships and receiving the Walter Payton Award for most outstanding player in 1-AA football.

Early years

Peterson was born to Porter R. and Reatha M. Peterson; his father works at a plant that makes Energizer batteries. Adrian Peterson was a two-time all-state, all-area selection and team MVP at Santa Fe High School in Alachua, Florida where he rushed for 4,949 yards during his prep career to earn

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors from

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and Blue Chip Illustrated. Peterson ran for 1,526 yards and 17 TDs on 185 carries (8.2 avg.) to earn Florida Class 4A Player-of-the-Year honors as a senior. He also

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

four times in

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and two times each in

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

while in high school.

College career

Peterson played for

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

from 1998-2001. He finished his career, not including the playoffs, with 6,559 rushing yards, a Division I football record, and won the Walter Payton Award in 1999. He was the first sophomore to win the award for most outstanding player in I-AA football history. Peterson finished among the top three vote-getters for the Walter Payton Award in all four of his

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

seasons. In 57 career games including the playoffs, he carried 1,378 times for 9,145 yards (6.6 avg), 111 touchdowns and an average of 160 yards per game. On September 29, 2012, Peterson was inducted into the Georgia Southern hall of fame in a ceremony held during halftime at

Paulson Stadium Allen E. Paulson Stadium is a 25,000-seat on-campus football stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. It is home to the Georgia Southern Eagles football team and the focal point of Erk Russell Athletic Park. Paulson Stadium was dedicated on September 29, ...

. In January 2014, College Sporting News announced that the FCS Offensive Player of the Year Award will be named after Peterson. Peterson was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 2017.

College statistics

Professional career

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears selected Peterson in the sixth round of the

. During his first season as a Bear, he rushed for 101 yards on nineteen attempts, and scored a single touchdown. He missed most of the next season after sustaining an ankle injury. The team has primarily relied on Peterson as a

specialist Specialist may refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), a military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist (arena football) * Specialist degree, in academia * Specialty (medicine) * Designated market maker, in the American stock market * ...

. In 2004, he led the Bears' special teams unit with 28 tackles. Peterson saw more action as a running back during the

2005 Chicago Bears season The 2005 season was the Chicago Bears' 86th in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved to an 11–5 record from a 5–11 record in 2004, earning them their first playoff birth and NFC North title since 2001 and the second seed in th ...

, after the Bears' top two running backs, Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, suffered injuries. On November 13, in the first game that both were injured, a game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, Peterson eclipsed the 100 yard mark in a game for the first time in his career. He rushed for 120 yards on 24 attempts and scored a touchdown. On the season, Peterson rushed for 391 yards on 76 attempts, and scored two touchdowns. Peterson was the team's second leading rusher during the season, and even went on to score a touchdown during the NFC Divisional game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. During the

2006 Chicago Bears season The 2006 season was the Chicago Bears' 87th in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved on their 11–5 record from 2005 and finished with a 13–3 record; the best in the NFC. The Bears retained their NFC North divisional title, and ...

, Peterson returned to his role as a specialist and third string running back. He received occasional playtime as running back, but played a versatile role on the Bears'

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. During the team's season finale, Peterson caught a 37-yard pass from

Brad Maynard Bradley Alan Maynard (born February 9, 1974) is a former American football Punter (football), punter. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft, and has also been a member of the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, ...

on a fake punt. In the NFC Championship game, Peterson tackled Michael Lewis and forced a fumble. After the Bears traded Jones prior to the 2007 season, Peterson was promoted to second string running back. However, first string running back Cedric Benson sustained a season-ending injury on November 25, against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. During the same game, Peterson scored his second rushing touchdown of the season, when he powered into the endzone despite being enveloped by several Bronco defenders. With this news, Peterson moved to first string, with rookie

Garrett Wolfe Garrett Wolfe (born August 17, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played his college football at Northern Illinois. Early years A Chicago native, Wolfe atte ...

moved to second string. Peterson had his second 100-yard rushing game on December 23, 2007, against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. Peterson had another productive performance the next week, during the Bears’ season finale against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He rushed for 91 yards, and even threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to

Bernard Berrian Bernard Berrian (born December 27, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Berrian also played for the Minnes ...

. When the Bears drafted Matt Forte and brought in Kevin Jones, Peterson saw little to no action at running back. He was cut from the team after the Bears signed Chester Taylor before the 2010 season. Peterson signed with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

on August 12, 2010, but was released by the team just five days later.

Virginia Destroyers

Peterson was drafted by the Virginia Destroyers in the third round (14th overall) of the

2011 UFL Draft The 2011 UFL Draft was the third and final draft of the United Football League. The draft took place on Monday, May 2, 2011. The draft was held over a period of 10 rounds during which each of the five UFL teams was allowed one pick per round, in re ...

. He signed with the team on June 15.

Georgia Southern University

On February 13, 2018, Peterson returned to Georgia Southern as director of student-athlete development for the football team under

Chad Lunsford Chad Kevin Lunsford (born February 24, 1977) is an American football coach who is currently the tight ends coach at Florida Atlantic Owls football, Florida Atlantic. He previously served as the head coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles football ...

. He took over for Andrew Dodge, who moved to an on-field coaching assignment toward the end of the 2016 season.

Personal life

Peterson is the younger brother of former

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Mike Peterson Porter Michael Peterson (born June 17, 1976) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the outside linebackers coach at the University of Florida. He most recently was the outside linebackers coach at the University of S ...

. He is also related to Freddie Solomon, who played for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

and

. He performs community work and hosts an annual free youth football camp. Additionally, Peterson, who has a speech impediment, volunteers to help children who also face the same challenge. Peterson released his autobiography ''Don't Dis My Abilities'' in 2013. On February 17, 2015, Peterson's 7-year-old son died of brain cancer.

References

External links

Adrian Peterson
- at

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Adrian N. 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Gainesville, Florida Players of American football from Gainesville, Florida American football running backs Georgia Southern Eagles football players Chicago Bears players Seattle Seahawks players Walter Payton Award winners Virginia Destroyers players Georgia Southern Eagles football coaches