Oklahoma's superstar tailback was such a team guy while being hurt these past few months. Instead of moping, he encouraged his replacements and cheered his teammates. Instead of sulking, he jumped and skipped and celebrated.
And now, he's busting his butt to play in the Fiesta Bowl after busting his collarbone.
All of that has caused some of the crimson-clad faithful to believe Peterson will shun the pros and return for his senior season. Doesn't his attitude prove that he loves being a Sooner? Doesn't his return show that he's not considering the NFL?
Unfortunately, Sooner fans, those variables do not a return by Peterson equal.
The reason: his position.
"He'd be a fool not to leave,” OU defensive end Larry Birdine said.
There've been plenty of occasions during Birdine's career that he's said crazy stuff.
This is not one of them.
Time to face facts, Sooner fans. Adrian ain't coming back. A.D. is A.G. — all gone.
Peterson is playing on borrowed time. Every running back is. No other position in football takes so much punishment. Quarterbacks and receivers are hit maybe 10 or 12 times a game. Feature tailbacks like Peterson are tackled 20 or 30 times a game, maybe more.
Grown men as big as or bigger than Peterson sprint full speed and hurl themselves at him. Sometimes, they ram his torso. Sometimes, they smash his appendages. Always, they hurt. The collisions are violent, jarring bones and stressing joints.
A running back can only take so many hits. Knees give out. Hips give in.
"I think about that,” Peterson admitted Saturday during Fiesta Bowl media day. "It's like a light switch. It can get cut on and cut off just like that.”
Peterson knows as much from first-hand experience. He missed four games last season with an ankle injury and six games this season with that shoulder injury.
And the thing is, Peterson is always going to be prone to injury because of the way he plays. He does not run out of bounds. He does not avoid tackles. He actually looks for contact. He wants to hit someone, to lower his shoulder, to run them over.
"That's who he is,” OU co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin said. "He loves to play the game of football, and he only knows one way to play it.”
That is part of what makes him one of the greatest college running backs of all time. He has carried defenders. He has moved piles. He has made bullying his way down the field an art form. But ultimately, that physical style is going to limit his good years even more.
Really, the clock is ticking already.
Consider that when Peterson was a freshman he carried the ball 339 times for 1,925 yards. Those numbers compare favorably to the college stats of three of the best NFL running backs of all time. Jim Brown had 361 carries for 2,091 yards, Franco Harris 380 for 2,002 and Jerome Bettis 337 for 1,912.
Thing is, those were their career totals in college.
Peterson has racked up another 388 carries since his freshman season. While it's easy to wonder what kind of yards he'd have amassed and what kind of career he'd have had if he'd stayed healthy, you can understand why he didn't stay that way.
The clock is ticking on his earning potential as an NFL player.
If Peterson played any other position, returning for a fourth season would be possible. Then he could pull a Matt Leinart, return to school, take a ballroom dancing class, maybe even hang out with Nick Lachey.
No one is suggesting, after all, that being a college football player is without its perks.
"Being surrounded by these guys, being around these guys three years ... it's just something about the college level,” Peterson said. "I've heard too many stories from the guys that are in the NFL now. You've still got guys ... who say, ‘Man, I wish I would've come back for my senior year because it's a business up here. It's not the same as it is in college.' ”
Still, could he ignore the clock ticking on his career and delay the NFL millions for another year?
"Yeah, I could,” Peterson said. "I really could.”
But he won't. No matter how much he loves wearing the crimson and how much he enjoys college football, he knows the countdown is on.
Tick, tock.
Savoring the moment Teammates primed for Peterson's... 12/31/2006 GLENDALE, Ariz. — Allen Patrick couldn't help but watch. Not that there was anything new about that. Here he was Saturday morning, sitting alone in the...
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