Before nearly setting the NFL single-season rushing record, Adrian Peterson was a standout running back at Palestine High School in Texas.
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Adrian Peterson doesn't mind going back to
Palestine (Texas), back to when the football world was introduced to him, back to when he discovered an authentic passion for the game.
Football was Peterson's outlet, the one place he could turn to and forget his father, Nelson, was serving an eight-year federal prison sentence for laundering drug money, and to put behind the tragic memory of seeing his brother Brian killed by a drunk driver when Adrian was seven.
After high school, Adrian Peterson went
on to star at Oklahoma.
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Peterson established himself with the Wildcats, wearing the number of a certain running back he would one day chase into the record books: No. 29, Eric Dickerson.
As a junior at Palestine, Peterson rushed for 2,051 yards on 246 carries, averaging of 8.3 yards per carry, and scored 22 touchdowns. During his senior year, he scored 32 TDs and rushed for 2,960 yards on 252 attempts, averaging an astounding 11.7 yards per carry.
It was one of the greatest times of his life. Peterson shared some of those moments with MaxPreps, after being presented the Bert Bell Award by the prestigious Maxwell Football Club as the NFL's Player of the Year on March 1 at its annual gala.
MaxPreps: It sounds like you really enjoyed your high school experience?
Adrian Peterson: I definitely enjoyed playing in high school. That developed in me the passion I have for working and the passion I have for football. It made it easy for me to go out and want to be the best. That's where it started. I didn't want to come off the field. I wanted to play defense, too, but my high school coaches knew better. They wanted to save me for offense.
MP: Was it the best time you had playing football?
AP: You know it really was. It wasn't as much as a business as football started to become when you get into the NFL. It was young kids coming together for one cause, and that was trying to win a state championship. There was really nothing better than Friday nights. They were like Christmas. You'd get charged up and you're in class, and you can't wait to play. The experience you got and grew up with from pre-school, all the way on up to middle school and then on up to high school, to build that relationship with those guys, that's something you always remember. That's something you would never be able to duplicate. It's why playing high school football is so special. You're playing with people you've known your whole life, up until then.
You know what made it also kind of special is more guys played at the high school level that truly loved playing football. A lot of those guys didn't go on and play in college. They played because they loved the game. It's something you don't always see. It's the most fun I ever had.
MP: Playing high school football at Palestine kind of changed your life, didn't it?
AP: It did. I didn't play my first two years of high school because, at the time, I was going down a different path. I switched it up and got back to playing my junior year. There were a lot of people in my life that have always supported me, and I couldn't let them down. The speed comes from my mom [Bonita Jackson]. She was a state sprint champion. The memory of my brother really pushed me, too. It still does. We did everything together.
MP: Best high school memory?
AP: The first game my junior year against Huntsville, right outside of Houston. We had a coach there named Coach Thompson, and was at Palestine the previous year. Jeff Harrell came in and was our new coach at Palestine. Thompson transferred out to Huntsville and saying Palestine will never win, and this and that. That got me going.
Our first game was against Huntsville. I ran for 359 yards and six touchdowns. We shut them out. That's a game I will never forget.
MP: Any advice to today's high school athletes?AP: My advice to young kids today is to enjoy the game and the time you have playing it. It goes fast. One injury and you can be done. I know. I experienced it. I came off the field [Dec. 24, 2011 in a game against the Washington Redskins] and was wondering why this [ACL and MCL tear in his left knee] happened.
A year later, I came back, and came back stronger. It's that love of the game that you have to have, and for me, that began in high school. It's why you talk to a lot of NFL players today and they'll tell you it's the most fun they ever had playing football in their lives. It was for me, and playing the game continues to be something I love. That's where it started.
Joseph Santoliquito is a frequent MaxPreps contributor and Philadelphia-based writer. He may be reached at jsantoliquito@yahoo.com
