Adrian Peterson
Preston Potter
Early LIfe and Family
Adrian Lewis Peterson was born on March 21, 1985, in Palestine, Texas, a small town between Houston and Dallas. His parents, Bonita Brown and Nelson Peterson, had been star athletes in college. Nelson was a shooting guard for Idaho State with an NBA career in the offing. That dream was derailed when a gun that his brother was cleaning discharged into his leg. The wound became infected and several surgeries later Nelson accepted the fact that his basketball career wasn’t going to happen. With several children to support, he joined the working world.
High School
What makes him special?
Adrian is very big and very fast. Perhaps bigger and faster than people realize in the heat of battle. During his rookie year, a lot of defenders took bad angles on him and paid a dear price. Either Adrian ran past their intended point of contact or simply ran right over them.
Adrian is also deceptive. His shakes and wiggles freeze good wide open-field tacklers, giving him running room where it seems he has none. When he cuts or spins or sidesteps, he is back at full speed within a stride. Once in the open field, Adrian tends to get faster where other backs might level off. He has pull-away speed when it matters most, even after the 2011 knee injury.