Paul Peterson (born July 29, 1980) is an

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 ...

coach and former player. He is the head football coach at

Utah Tech University Utah Tech University (UT), formerly known as Dixie State University (DSU) and similar names, is a public university in St. George, Utah. The university offers about 240 programs (4 master's degrees, 53 bachelor's degrees, 18 associate degrees, 45 ...

, formerly named ''Dixie State University'', in

St. George, Utah St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northe ...

, a position he has held since the 2019 season. Peterson played

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 ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. He was the first Boston College quarterback to start his career 6–0, and compiled a 12–2 record for his career with the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisio ...

, including two

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

victories, in the 2003 San Francisco Bowl and

2004 Continental Tire Bowl The 2004 Continental Tire Bowl featured the Boston College Eagles, and the North Carolina Tar Heels. The game was played on Thursday, December 30, 2004, at 1:00 PM EST. The game was the third edition to this bowl game, but the last one under the ...

. He was named the

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

Offensive Player of the Week twice, the MVP of the Continental Tire Bowl, and BC's team MVP in 2004.

Playing career

High school

Peterson was an all-state selection as junior and senior at

Bingham High School Bingham High School is a public high school located in South Jordan, Utah, United States. It is one of eight high schools in the Jordan School District. Teacher/pupil ratios are budgeted at 1 to 27.3, with actual class sizes varying. The school's ...

South Jordan, Utah South Jordan is a city in south central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, south of Salt Lake City. Part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, the city lies in the Salt Lake Valley along the banks of the Jordan River between the Oquirrh ...

. He holds the school's single-season record for passing yardage (2,011) and career record for passing yards (3,900). He totaled 38 touchdown passes including 20 in his senior season. He also played baseball and basketball. After high school, Peterson served a two-year

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

mission in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

(August 1999–July 2001).

Junior college

Peterson played the 2001 and 2002 seasons at

Snow College Snow College is a public community college in Ephraim, Utah. It offers certificates and associate degrees in a number of areas, along with bachelor's degrees in music and software engineering and a four-year nursing program. Snow College is part ...

, a

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

Ephraim, Utah Ephraim is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 5,611 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the largest city in Sanpete County. It is the location of Snow College and is located ...

. In 2001, he threw for 2,518 yards and 20 touchdowns. In 2002, he earned JC Grid-Wire

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 and All-

Western States Football League The Western States Football League (WSFL) is a defunct American junior college football league for schools in the states of Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico and Utah that existed from 1985 to 2018. The league was part of the National Junior College Athle ...

first team honors after leading the Badgers to an 8–2 record, throwing for 2,982 yards and 35 touchdowns in 10 games. He led the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJCAA) in both passing yards and touchdowns.

Boston College

2003 season

After starting the year as a backup, Peterson came on strong at the end of the season to win the starting quarterback job from

Quinton Porter Quinton George Porter (born December 28, 1982) is a former American professional gridiron football quarterback. He was on the practice squad for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was originally signed by the Housto ...

, leading the Eagles to wins in each of their last three games. He completed 16-of-25 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns to lead the team to a 35–21 win over

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

in the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl. He finished the season completing 84 of 147 passes for 1,124 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

2004 season

Peterson won Big East Offensive Player of the Week twice, Big East Co-Offensive Player of the Week once, and Big East Offensive Player once. He started 10 games until missing the season finale due to a fractured second metacarpal in his right (throwing) hand late in the second quarter against Temple. Peterson came back to complete 24 of 33 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns in BC's 37–24 win over North Carolina in the

Continental Tire Bowl The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2002. The game currently features a matchup between a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (AC ...

before exiting the game in the second half with a broken leg. However, he still earned game MVP honors. Megan, his wife, picked up his trophy on the field after the game. He finished the season with 2,594 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Peterson concluded his career with 3,718 yards (eighth all time), 28 touchdowns (sixth all time), and a 60.8 completion percentage (sixth all time).

CFL

Peterson signed with the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) before the 2005 season. He was released after week 10.

Coaching career

Peterson was a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU) in 2006 and at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

in 2007. In 2008, Peterson joined

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

coaching staff as the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach. Peterson was hired as the 21st head football coach at

on January 23, 2017. He then took the Head coaching position at

Dixie State University Utah Tech University (UT), formerly known as Dixie State University (DSU) and similar names, is a public university in St. George, Utah. The university offers about 240 programs (4 master's degrees, 53 bachelor's degrees, 18 associate degrees, 45 ...

on December 2, 2018.

Personal life

Peterson is the sixth of ten children. His older brother, Charlie, is a former BYU quarterback who played professionally in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) and

(CFL)

Head coaching record

College

Junior college

References

External links

Dixie State profile

Boston College profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Paul 1980 births Living people 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century Mormon missionaries American expatriates in Nicaragua American football quarterbacks American Mormon missionaries Boston College Eagles football players BYU Cougars football coaches Utah Tech Trailblazers football coaches Mormon missionaries in Nicaragua NC State Wolfpack football coaches Ottawa Renegades coaches Sacramento State Hornets football coaches Snow Badgers football coaches Snow Badgers football players Southern Utah Thunderbirds football coaches Sportspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania People from South Jordan, Utah Sportspeople from Salt Lake County, Utah Coaches of American football from Utah Players of American football from Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah