MOORE — A year ago at this time, Adrian Peterson’s place in the NFL was cemented. Not only was the dynamic Minnesota tailback looked upon as the top runner in the land, he was considered by many as the overall best player.
However, after a season in which he ran for 1,383 yards and 18 touchdowns, Peterson has seen his stature take a slide behind the likes of Chris Johnson and has even taken a backseat to teammate Brett Favre.
Peterson’s slight tumble wasn’t because he lost a step or began shying away from contact. His problem of holding onto the football hounded the all-pro back the entire season. In three seasons he has accounted for 20 fumbles, including a league high seven last year.
And for someone as fiercely competitive as Peterson, that is not acceptable.
“The challenge began at the end of the season,” Peterson said. “Putting that thought behind me. As far as fumbling, it’s a part of the game. I’m not out there tossing the ball to the guys. I know what I have to do as a player and that’s to help my team accomplish its ultimate goal. And that’s win the NFC North and win the Super Bowl.”
However, Peterson wasn’t back in Oklahoma Friday to talk about fumbles, the upcoming season or Favre. In conjunction with the Whitten-Newman Foundation, Peterson hosted a football camp for 15 students from the Justice Alma Wilson Seeworth Academy, a charter school in Oklahoma City. Despite only being a couple days away from the start of training camp, the former Oklahoma star took time out to give the kids a message.
“Anytime I have the opportunity, I just like to tell the kids anything is possible,” Peterson said. “Especially these kids in particular, this group is struggling with different types of situations.”
According to Whitten-Newman co-founder Reggie Whitten, the kids who attended the camp were specifically picked to meet Peterson and hear what he had to say.
“Mongo Allen is their principal, and they have chosen 15 kids who are participating in this camp,” Whitten said. “And these are kids who haven’t had the best of luck. They really need to be introduced to a good role model. These are kids that are going to come up to an intersection in their life where they can go left and go to jail or get in trouble. Or they can go right and get an education and end up being a productive member of society.”
While Peterson was the headliner, there were other people at the top of their professional field who also came out to talk to the students. Allen believes this can have a lasting effect.
“Really, it’s beyond belief and beyond words,” Allen said. “I think that this is the type of opportunity I wish all schools in Oklahoma could get. And I wish that the whole school could have gotten it. But for the kids who were lucky enough to be out here and participate, this is one of those things that will change their lives.”
Peterson spent about an hour with the kids. He ran through warm-up drills before playing catch with them. He also took photos with each one of them and autographed the photos.
Peterson’s story on how he used to get in trouble when he was younger and found a way to rise above it may have had the biggest impact.
“Just to have the opportunity to talk to these kids and encourage them to take the right steps and things I have used to be successful,” Peterson said. “And that’s having faith and keeping God first.”
Whitten has worked with Peterson on several projects before. He even had AD’s father come speak to at-risk kids in the past. He knows what type of influence Peterson can have on a kid seeking a direction to take in life.
“I think he has a huge impact,” Whitten said. “Of course they know AD from his football playing ability. But he is surely one of my favorite people. We are trying to set up some good role models for the kids. Our primary enemy is drugs, alcohol and tobacco. So we are trying to introduce them to people like AD, who are really good role models. He could be on any beach in the world spending his money. But here he is in Norman, Oklahoma with these kids.”
Michael Kinney 366-3537 mkinney@mooreamerican.com
