Junior Season
Patrick Peterson was named to the preseason watch lists for the Nagurski Award, the Thorpe Award, the Ronnie Lott Award, the Walter Camp Award, and the Chuck Bednarik Award. It was announced during the summer of 2010 that Peterson would begin returning punts and kickoffs due to his size, speed, and athleticism. With this added dimension to his game, and his dominance as a cornerback, Peterson began being mentioned as a dark horse for the 2010 Heisman Trophy award, presented to the best college football player every year. Only one defensive player has ever won the Heisman Trophy, Charles Woodson.
Peterson began his Heisman campaign against North Carolina in the 2010 Chic-fil-a Kickoff. The Tigers won 30–24 and Peterson was terrific. In his debut as a returner, Peterson had a school-record 257-yards returning punts and kickoffs, 244-yards coming in the first half. He returned a punt 87-yards for a touchdown and consistently gave the Tiger's offense good field position. His 257-yard performance ranks second all-time in the SEC behind Mississippi State's Nick Turner and his 266-yard performance. Peterson was named Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. He was also named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week.
Peterson had two punt returns against Vanderbilt for 8-yards in week two as the Tigers rolled past the Commodores. He also returned two kickoffs for 51-yards, to go along with one tackle.
In week three of the 2010 season, the 2–0 Tigers hosted 1–1 Mississippi State for LSU's first home game of the year. The Tiger defense suffocated Mississippi State's offense and Peterson strengthened his campaign with two acrobatic interceptions for LSU. He also returned one kickoff 39-yards and one punt 2-yards to go along with four solo tackles.
Peterson entertained the home crowd again in week four against Top-25 foe West Virginia. With the game tied 0–0 early in the first quarter, West Virginia went to attempt a mid-range field goal that would have silenced the raucous crowd in Death Valley, however Peterson was able to leap from behind the line of scrimmage and block the kick. The Tiger defense forced West Virginia to punt later in the half. Peterson fielded the punt on his own 40-yard line and raced 60-yards up the middle of the field for a touchdown and a 17–0 LSU lead. Peterson struck the Heisman pose in the North end zone of Tiger Stadium, drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but putting the Tiger faithful into a frenzy. Peterson was almost single-handedly responsible for 10 points in the game that ended with LSU winning 20–14.The national sports media began comparing Peterson to Woodson, who actually had worse statistics than Peterson through his first four games during his Heisman winning season. Peterson was again named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. He also recorded 1 solo tackle.
Week five saw the LSU Tigers take on the Tennessee Volunteers. Peterson and the LSU defense limited Tennessee to 217 yards of offense and the Tigers won 16–14. Peterson recorded 1 solo tackle and 3 assisted tackles. He had 3 punt returns for 30 yards and 3 kickoff returns for 64 yards. The LSU Tigers improved to 5–0 and 3–0 in the SEC.
Peterson's efforts have helped the Tigers to a #12 ranking in the Assosciated Press Top 25 as well as a #9 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25. Through week 5 of the 2010 season, he is 3rd in Division 1-A in punt return average at 23.6-yds per attempt (12–283), 1st in punt return touchdowns with 2, and 22nd in kickoff return average at 28.2-yds per attempt. Peterson is also tied for 30th in the country with two interceptions. He was in the top five of most straw polls regarding the 2010 Heisman Trophy. In an effort to jumpstart the struggling offense for the Tigers, Peterson has begun practicing as a wide receiver and a running back on offense. He may even take some snaps out of the wildcat formation. When Charles Woodson won the Heisman, he too played offense at times, scoring three offensive touchdowns. Following the season, he was a first-team All-SEC selection, and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American.
Read more about this topic: Patrick Peterson, College Career
Famous quotes containing the words junior and/or season:
“The junior senator from Wisconsin, by his reckless charges, has so preyed upon the fears and hatreds and prejudices of the American people that he has started a prairie fire which neither he nor anyone else may be able to control.”
—J. William Fulbright (b. 1905)
“Compare ... the cinema with theatre. Both are dramatic arts. Theatre brings actors before a public and every night during the season they re-enact the same drama. Deep in the nature of theatre is a sense of ritual. The cinema, by contrast, transports its audience individually, singly, out of the theatre towards the unknown.”
—John Berger (b. 1926)