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Patrick Peterson will be remembered as one of LSU's greatest
Published: Sunday, December 26, 2010, 4:52 AM Updated: Sunday, December 26, 2010, 8:54 AM
By Jim Kleinpeter, The Times Picayune
BATON ROUGE -- Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who won four national awards and All-America honors in 2007, probably always will be LSU football's most decorated defensive player.
Rusty Costanza/The Times-PicayuneLSU cornerback Patrick Peterson won the Thorpe and Bednarik trophies and is a consensus first-team All-America selection. But seldom has LSU produced a player whose skills are so over-the-top and readily apparent.
But he wasn't routinely described as a "freak," modern-day parlance for a player with amazing skills and size. That's where Tigers junior cornerback Patrick Peterson has Dorsey beat.
Blessed with cornerback skills packaged into the body of a linebacker, Peterson may wind up being recognized as the greatest defensive player in LSU history after he plays in the AT&T Cotton Bowl on Jan. 7 in Arlington, Texas.
It's also almost a cinch to be Peterson's final game as a Tiger. He's NFL ready, with a 6-foot-1, 220-pound body, 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash, the agility of a jackrabbit and seemingly all the intangibles a pro team would want.
Peterson has his own haul of national honors. He won the Thorpe and Bednarik trophies and is a consensus first-team All-America selection. But seldom has LSU produced a player whose skills are so over-the-top and readily apparent.
"He's as good or better than any defensive back that's lined up there if you are going to compare physical tools," said Don "Scooter" Purvis, who coached LSU defensive backs for 10 seasons under former LSU Coach Charlie McClendon. "Comparing players from different eras is just not fair. All of it is relative. But I've got to believe he's going to be one of the premier defensive backs in the pros."
Purvis has good perspective, having coached cornerback Tommy Casanova (1969-71), generally considered the best defensive back produced by LSU, and a player to whom Peterson is often compared. The school's only three-time All-American, Casanova made four Pro Bowls in six seasons as a safety for the Cincinnati Bengals, who drafted him in the second round with the 29th overall pick.
Like Peterson, Casanova was blessed with otherworldly skills and a willingness to tackle. He was a lockdown cornerback and an excellent kick returner, who could have played offense. In LSU's 1971 spring game he rushed for 197 yards, but a hamstring injury as a senior scuttled plans to use him there.
Casanova would routinely leave spring practice to run the 100-yard dash or a leg on the 440-yard relay team for the Tigers track team when its regular sprinters were ailing.
But Casanova, who was 6-1, had a top playing weight of 185 pounds, which was big by 1970s standards. Peterson is roughly 30 pounds heavier, without sacrificing speed, and he's had to face more pass-oriented offenses to test his coverage skills.
"It's not how fast they run or how quick they are," Purvis said. "It comes down to one thing: can you change direction and be at top speed in a few steps.
"What astounds me about Peterson is being able to move that build, that body structure, in a way that a cornerback has to do to respond to what's happening in front of him," Purvis said. "It's almost a phenomenon."
In other words, freakish.
ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr., said Peterson is "more than a freak athlete" and rates him as the fourth-best prospect in the upcoming NFL draft after Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers and Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green.
Chris Landry, a local scout who works as a consultant for several NFL teams, said Peterson is a bigger version of Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins, but is clearly going to play cornerback and should have an immediate impact.
"You want him at corner, but he can do some safety things," Landry said. "With all the sub packages people play, as he learns he'll be able to play inside and outside. He'll be a lockdown guy on the outside. He has the size to be able to transition into safety like (former Pittsburgh Steeler) Rod Woodson did."
Landry said Peterson's long arms give him an advantage in playing press coverage. His ability to turn and run with receivers is underrated, and his ball skills and body control allow him to track passes and intercept or bat down balls.
Perhaps Peterson's signature play of the season was his interception and 85-yard return against Louisiana-Monroe. Peterson stayed in tight coverage down the sideline on a deep pass, leaped over the receiver to make the catch, kept his balance and stayed inbounds, and then weaved his way through tacklers and ended up on the opposite corner of the field before running out of gas.
"There were a lot of other plays this season that were better purely technique-wise, but that one was emblematic of the skills he has -- anticipation, change of direction, body control, concentration, hands, ability to make plays in the open field and stamina," Landry said. "The way he does things, his approach to the game. ... he's confident, but he really likes the game and plays with a lot of flair and energy. That will serve him well."
That interception was one of four he had this season, along with 36 tackles, 10 passes defensed, two punt returns for touchdowns and a kickoff return average of 29.3 yards.
The way Peterson handles himself has made an impression on his teammates. Cornerback Morris Claiborne, who starts opposite Peterson, said his cockiness isn't a false bravado, and that he understands leadership and "teamness."
"He knows he's the man and he proves it," Claiborne said. "That's different from guys who think they're the man, but when they get on the field they can't do it.
"The swag he has is amazing. He doesn't do a lot of talking. He's always trying to pick you up. If he sees you aren't yourself he'll come up and say 'What's the matter? You got something on your mind?' "
No one appreciates Peterson more than LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis. Peterson's cover skills allowed Chavis to be flexible with his blitz packages and defenses.
Chavis is not one to toss around superlatives about players unless they really earn them, but he said Peterson's ball skills are the best he's been around, and he coached All-Americans Eric Berry and Dale Carter at Tennessee.
"Eric had good ball skills, I don't know they were as good as Pat's," he said. "Pat has best ball skills that anyone I've been around - period.
"That's something you're not born with, it's something you create. I think at an early age his dad gave him an opportunity to develop those skills over a long period of time. You get a chance to coach a guy like that maybe every 10 years. He's truly a special athlete. What makes him special is his work ethic, dedication, desire, love for the game and love of competing."
Jim Kleinpeter can be reached at jkleinpeter@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405; follow me on twitter at jimkleinpeter.
Published: Sunday, December 26, 2010, 4:52 AM Updated: Sunday, December 26, 2010, 8:54 AM
By Jim Kleinpeter, The Times Picayune
BATON ROUGE -- Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who won four national awards and All-America honors in 2007, probably always will be LSU football's most decorated defensive player.
Rusty Costanza/The Times-PicayuneLSU cornerback Patrick Peterson won the Thorpe and Bednarik trophies and is a consensus first-team All-America selection. But seldom has LSU produced a player whose skills are so over-the-top and readily apparent.
But he wasn't routinely described as a "freak," modern-day parlance for a player with amazing skills and size. That's where Tigers junior cornerback Patrick Peterson has Dorsey beat.
Blessed with cornerback skills packaged into the body of a linebacker, Peterson may wind up being recognized as the greatest defensive player in LSU history after he plays in the AT&T Cotton Bowl on Jan. 7 in Arlington, Texas.
It's also almost a cinch to be Peterson's final game as a Tiger. He's NFL ready, with a 6-foot-1, 220-pound body, 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash, the agility of a jackrabbit and seemingly all the intangibles a pro team would want.
Peterson has his own haul of national honors. He won the Thorpe and Bednarik trophies and is a consensus first-team All-America selection. But seldom has LSU produced a player whose skills are so over-the-top and readily apparent.
"He's as good or better than any defensive back that's lined up there if you are going to compare physical tools," said Don "Scooter" Purvis, who coached LSU defensive backs for 10 seasons under former LSU Coach Charlie McClendon. "Comparing players from different eras is just not fair. All of it is relative. But I've got to believe he's going to be one of the premier defensive backs in the pros."
Purvis has good perspective, having coached cornerback Tommy Casanova (1969-71), generally considered the best defensive back produced by LSU, and a player to whom Peterson is often compared. The school's only three-time All-American, Casanova made four Pro Bowls in six seasons as a safety for the Cincinnati Bengals, who drafted him in the second round with the 29th overall pick.
Like Peterson, Casanova was blessed with otherworldly skills and a willingness to tackle. He was a lockdown cornerback and an excellent kick returner, who could have played offense. In LSU's 1971 spring game he rushed for 197 yards, but a hamstring injury as a senior scuttled plans to use him there.
Casanova would routinely leave spring practice to run the 100-yard dash or a leg on the 440-yard relay team for the Tigers track team when its regular sprinters were ailing.
But Casanova, who was 6-1, had a top playing weight of 185 pounds, which was big by 1970s standards. Peterson is roughly 30 pounds heavier, without sacrificing speed, and he's had to face more pass-oriented offenses to test his coverage skills.
"It's not how fast they run or how quick they are," Purvis said. "It comes down to one thing: can you change direction and be at top speed in a few steps.
"What astounds me about Peterson is being able to move that build, that body structure, in a way that a cornerback has to do to respond to what's happening in front of him," Purvis said. "It's almost a phenomenon."
In other words, freakish.
ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr., said Peterson is "more than a freak athlete" and rates him as the fourth-best prospect in the upcoming NFL draft after Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers and Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green.
Chris Landry, a local scout who works as a consultant for several NFL teams, said Peterson is a bigger version of Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins, but is clearly going to play cornerback and should have an immediate impact.
"You want him at corner, but he can do some safety things," Landry said. "With all the sub packages people play, as he learns he'll be able to play inside and outside. He'll be a lockdown guy on the outside. He has the size to be able to transition into safety like (former Pittsburgh Steeler) Rod Woodson did."
Landry said Peterson's long arms give him an advantage in playing press coverage. His ability to turn and run with receivers is underrated, and his ball skills and body control allow him to track passes and intercept or bat down balls.
Perhaps Peterson's signature play of the season was his interception and 85-yard return against Louisiana-Monroe. Peterson stayed in tight coverage down the sideline on a deep pass, leaped over the receiver to make the catch, kept his balance and stayed inbounds, and then weaved his way through tacklers and ended up on the opposite corner of the field before running out of gas.
"There were a lot of other plays this season that were better purely technique-wise, but that one was emblematic of the skills he has -- anticipation, change of direction, body control, concentration, hands, ability to make plays in the open field and stamina," Landry said. "The way he does things, his approach to the game. ... he's confident, but he really likes the game and plays with a lot of flair and energy. That will serve him well."
That interception was one of four he had this season, along with 36 tackles, 10 passes defensed, two punt returns for touchdowns and a kickoff return average of 29.3 yards.
The way Peterson handles himself has made an impression on his teammates. Cornerback Morris Claiborne, who starts opposite Peterson, said his cockiness isn't a false bravado, and that he understands leadership and "teamness."
"He knows he's the man and he proves it," Claiborne said. "That's different from guys who think they're the man, but when they get on the field they can't do it.
"The swag he has is amazing. He doesn't do a lot of talking. He's always trying to pick you up. If he sees you aren't yourself he'll come up and say 'What's the matter? You got something on your mind?' "
No one appreciates Peterson more than LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis. Peterson's cover skills allowed Chavis to be flexible with his blitz packages and defenses.
Chavis is not one to toss around superlatives about players unless they really earn them, but he said Peterson's ball skills are the best he's been around, and he coached All-Americans Eric Berry and Dale Carter at Tennessee.
"Eric had good ball skills, I don't know they were as good as Pat's," he said. "Pat has best ball skills that anyone I've been around - period.
"That's something you're not born with, it's something you create. I think at an early age his dad gave him an opportunity to develop those skills over a long period of time. You get a chance to coach a guy like that maybe every 10 years. He's truly a special athlete. What makes him special is his work ethic, dedication, desire, love for the game and love of competing."
Jim Kleinpeter can be reached at jkleinpeter@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405; follow me on twitter at jimkleinpeter.
