Adrian Peterson is considered a sure-fire first-round draft pick if he makes himself eligible for the 2007 NFL draft. But that isn’t reason enough for him not to play at least one more game at Oklahoma.
“I have been playing this game since I was 7,” he said Wednesday. “A lot of guys want to speculate, say this and say that, he’s not coming back and all that. Why should he play? But, I love the game, that’s why I play. I love the game. I love the guys that I play with. I’m just ready to get back in the groove and get ready to play.”
With that, all the speculation ended as to whether he would be on the field when the seventh-ranked Sooners face No. 9 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 1.
Peterson spoke to reporters for the first time in two months. The junior hasn’t played since breaking his collarbone in the fourth quarter of the Sooners’ 34-9 victory over Iowa State Oct. 14.
When or if Peterson would suit up for OU again has been a well-debated subject. Some thought he wouldn’t risk another injury and hurt his NFL stock.
But OU coach Bob Stoops believes health has no bearing on Peterson’s decision to play in the Fiesta Bowl.
“Plenty of time has passed and according to doctors, that break is no different now than any other player,” he said. “Just like anyone, if you fall on it wrong, he or anyone else could break it.”
Peterson rushed for 935 yards in the first six games before the injury. OU won all seven of its games without him, including a 21-7 victory over Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship game.
“I think it’s fair to say, it’s not like we have to have him play,” Stoops said. “We have gotten plenty used to not having him play. So he knows good and well that there isn’t any pressure here from anyone else that he needs to play. We’ve been more than fine without him. Here’s a guy that has worked his heart out for me for three years and I’m going to tell him he can’t (play)? That isn’t fair.”
Peterson will enter the Fiesta Bowl needing only 151 yards to pass 1978 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims as the school’s all-time leading rusher.
The record didn’t mean much to him before the injury, but circumstances have changed.
“Now that it’s here and it presents itself, it will be nice to go out there and get the record,” Peterson said. “It’s not something that I sit and think about all the time. But it’s nice, something that comes along with playing the game. It’s a record that has been standing for a long time, so it would be real nice to break it.”
Of course, Peterson could obliterate the mark if he came back for his senior season. He has until mid-January to make a final decision.
He isn’t expected to decide until after the Fiesta Bowl, but Peterson plans to meet with Stoops in the coming days to see where he is projected to go.
“Where I feel players make a mistake is when they listen to people who don’t know,” Stoops said. “Whether it be agents or media, it’s just pure speculation of where they are going to be picked. We talk to the people who actually do the drafting and they give you a more accurate projection of what they really think they’ll do.”
Only Peterson and his family know what he needs to hear before making the decision. For now, he’s only thinking about his immediate future and that’s the Fiesta Bowl.
“I’m just ready to get back in the groove and get ready to play,” he said.
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