July 5, 2006

By Adam Caparell

CSTV.com

	ADAM CAPARELL Adam is CSTV.com's football editor and national football writer. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- FOOTBALL 01/23: Feeling It 01/18: Post-Bowl, Pre-Spring 2008 Preseason Top 25 01/11: Late Season Run Priming Dawgs For '08 01/07: Ring A Bell? 01/04: Tressel's Hopefully Prepared For Anything 12/21: Hokies Have Something To Play For 12/14: Name Game 12/8: Little Surprise Tebow Takes Heisman 12/8: Back For More 12/7: Class Act 12/6: Flutie's Legacy Still The 'Miracle' 12/4: Dixon Can Still Smile 12/2: Wishful Thinking 11/30: Daniel Driving Missouri On BCS Run 11/28: 'Game' Still Largely Defines Beban 11/23: Long Time Coming 11/21: Bandstanding Brown 11/16: Georgia In The Know 11/14: Only Eddie Held Eddie Back 11/9: Soft Schedule Could Have Hawai'i BCS Bound 11/7: The 'Bear' And Crow 11/2: No Secret To Oregon's Success 10/31: Age Only A Number 10/26: Nittany Lions Know It's Got To Be Close 10/24: In Long Line, White Continued Tradition 10/19: Trojans In Unfamiliar Territory 10/17: Rogers Larger Than Life 10/12: Missouri The Machine 10/10: The Jet Likes To Run 10/5: Meyer's Seen This Before 10/4: Polled Over 10/3: Long On Memories 9/28: Season Begins For Dixon And Ducks Saturday 9/26: Desmond The Poser 9/21: Spurrier's Being Honest 9/19: All In The Family With Rozier 9/14: USC Ready For Another Early Road Test 9/12: Detmer's Magic Won Him Heisman 9/7: 'Show' Time For Virginia Tech 9/5: Drive Drove Dorsett 8/31: Family Affair 8/29: Count On The Gamecocks To Hatch 8/28: Youth Gone Wild On Gator Defense 8/28: Talent Comes Naturally To Tigers 8/27: SEC Preview 8/27: All Hail Saban 8/25: No More Lazy Sundays 8/24: Illinois D Brimming With New Confidence 8/23: Big Ten Preview 8/23: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 14 8/22: Tee'd Off 8/16: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 13 8/15: Brohm's Back, And All Is Well 8/15: Coaches Split On Early Signing Period 8/14: Schiano's Success Starting to Show 8/13: Big East Preview 8/13: It's Not About Respect With Leavitt And USF 8/11: Production Time for Seminole Signal Callers 8/10: Shannon Looking To Return Swagger 8/10: Wake Up? 8/9: Atlantic Coast Conference Preview 8/9: Tough Turkeys, Once Again 8/9: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 12 8/8: Preseason Top 25 8/2: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 11 8/1: Big Ten Expansion Doesn't Make Sense 7/26: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 10 7/25: Beamer's Burden 7/19: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 9 7/18: Good Vibrations 7/12: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 6 7/11: Three and Up 7/4: And The Winner Is... 7/2: Where In The World Is Ed Smith? 6/28: SEC East's Big Weekend 6/27: Summer Bowl Forecast 6/21: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 5 6/20: Big 12 Loses Its Big Man 6/14: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 4 6/13: Trick Up His Sleeve 6/7: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 3 6/6: For the Record 5/31: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 2 5/30: Like Clockwork 5/24: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 1 5/23: Florida Freshmen Get Defensive 5/16: Maroon Affected 5/10: Brennan's A Numbers Guy 5/9: More Than Just One Play 5/2: Post-Spring, Pre-Preseason Top 25 4/27: Quinn's Fallen, But He'll Still Be Up There 4/26: Size Does Matter 4/25: Troy Smith Now Middle of Pack QB 4/24: Peterson Can't Wait For The Moment 4/21: QB Biggest Question Facing Buckeyes 4/21: Don't Forget About The D 4/20: Bowl Game A Boon For Bluegrass Boys 4/19: The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall 4/18: New Coordinator, New Scheme, New Results? 4/18: Earlier The Better 4/17: It's Your Turn Offense 4/16: Spartans Hope Big Changes Go Long Way 4/14: Defense The Question Mark For Michigan 4/12: Height's Nothing But A Number 4/5: Two Much To Handle 3/28: More To Hill Than Just TDs 3/21: Down Could Mean Up For Delaware's Patrick 3/14: Changes In Store For Gill and Buffalo 3/7: Lurking In the Backgroung 2/28: What A Mock-ery 2/25: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same 2/24: Piscataway Proud 2/23: 40, For Better or Worse 2/22: The Ultimate Q and A 2/21: Combine's A Coming 2/14: Rights For Recruiting Wrongs 2/8: Recruiting No Joke For Coaches 2/6: Lemming Retrospect: Class of 2006 1/31: Coker In No Rush To Move On 1/30: Ross Bows Out, But Leaves His Mark At Army 1/26: Seniors With Something To Prove 1/25: Coaching For The League 1/24: Welcome To The Pros 1/17: Pre-Spring, Post-Bowl 2007 Preseason Top 25 1/10: Irish Have A Ways To Go 1/8: Siler and Gators After Something More 1/4: Russell Sweeter Than Sugar 1/3: Irish Out For Respect

What Bob Stoops appreciated most out of his star running back last season wasn't the 1,104 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns he produced for Oklahoma.

It was the determination Adrian Peterson showed to make it back onto the field - despite suffering one of the worst injuries of his career - that left a lasting impression on the Sooners' coach. 

"I thought he handled it incredibly well," Stoop said. "Through it all, what I appreciated was he tried to come back, and come back and come back."

A high ankle sprain in the Sooners' fourth game of the season did what few defenses have been able to do - slow Peterson down. Peterson missed significant time over Oklahoma's next two games, including against Texas where he carried the ball only three times, and even sat out the Sooners' Oct. 22 game against Baylor.

He did a lot standing around and watching from the sidelines, something he's not accustomed to.

"It was painful, not being able to go out there and go to war with my team," Peterson said. "Just sitting there watching, that's not what I really like to do. It was hard for me, but it's all part of the game."

Fully healed, with added bulk and muscle, the question on many people's minds is whether one of the front runners for the Heisman Trophy can put up the same kind of Heisman-worthy numbers as in his freshman campaign?

One thousand, nine hundred and twenty-five yards rushing and 15 touchdowns were good enough for a second-place finish - the best ever for a freshman - behind USC's Matt Leinart in 2004.

And even though he missed the better part of four games last season, Peterson still managed to lead the Big 12 in rushing.

"Until he was hurt, he had a lot of success," Stoops said. "It's not his fault or anyone else's that you catch a high ankle sprain."

Peterson won't be without motivation this season, admitting he has a chip on his shoulder after watching the last year's Heisman Trophy presentation from home. He'll strive for the Heisman he's dreamed of winning since he was a little kid, but he'd take a win over Texas and a national title over the individual honor any day.

There are so many other things pushing Peterson to be the best, like his father, Nelson.

Nelson Peterson is currently residing in a halfway house in Dallas. He had been serving time in a federal prison since Adrian was a seventh grader for laundering money obtained through drug distribution. His scheduled release is Oct. 5, two days before the Sooners face Texas at the Cotton Bowl, but Peterson is hopeful he can be out in time for the Sooners' season opener on Sept. 2.

The son can't wait.

"It's going to be crazy just being able to look in the stands and see," Peterson said. "I don't know. That's maybe going to give me the extra drive that I need."

Stoops isn't sure what kind of direct impact the release of his father will have on Peterson, but he believes it can only be positive.

"I think more than anything, it will help him as a young man to have another support figure right here that he can visit with and help him," Stoops said. "Let's face it, Adrian has a lot of demands on his time, and that can wear on you. He has somebody that he's close with that he has a chance to share it with.

"I've talked with Nelson on a lot of occasions and he's been nothing but supportive and strong for his son. And he's been nothing but great for me as a coach, as a person to visit with in regard to his son. I look at it as a big positive."

Peterson also thinks about his brother (who he lost as a child), his grandfather (who recently passed) and his baby daughter.   

"I just want to do good for them and make those people proud," Peterson said. "Stuff like that keeps me motivated and keeps me on the straight and narrow."

Stoops is expecting big things out of Peterson, who is expecting big things out of himself and an increased role with the offense. The goal is to give him the ball - a lot and in many different ways - and make him an every-down back. Stoops would like to try and get Peterson 2,000 yards rushing and "another 500 yards or so receiving."

"We'd like to see the guy make a lot of big plays and gain a lot of yards," Stoops said.

Five hundred yards receiving would be a dramatic increase over Peterson's career mark of 62. Peterson said he's worked on his pass catching during the spring and new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson should help facilitate that goal. The progression of quarterback Rhett Bomar will be the most crucial factor in Peterson's success. 

But offensive line questions could dog the Sooners, who only return one starter from a line that struggled last season.

Even so, will Stoops baby Peterson, his horse and best player, limiting his carries and touches? Not a chance.

"He's going to be on the field as long as he can handle it," Stoops said. "He wants to be on the field."

And he wants that Heisman.

"After staying here and watching the Heisman, I was sitting at the house and I was sweeping my floor. It kind of dawned on me," Peterson said. "Things that were happening, you just have to be able to handle what happened and to take it for what it is. Just take it the way it is and try to make up for it in any way you can."