Adrian Peterson is the biggest recruit for Oklahoma football in their storied history.
Oklahoma football has netted over two-dozen five-star recruits since 2000.
However, one unbelievable recruit stands above the rest. Though he never won a Heisman Trophy, running back Adrian Peterson almost did a freshman in 2004, giving us something akin to a Herschel Walker-level first year of college ball for the Oklahoma Sooners. There may never be another recruit in Oklahoma football history quite like Peterson.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound running back from Palestine, Texas was the No. 1 player in the 2004 recruiting class. He had a 0.9996 overall rating in the 247Sports Composite. That mark has Peterson as the No. 16 recruit all-time in the 247Sports system. Peterson had seven offers and made five official visits before playing his college ball for Bob Stoops in Norman.
The six other teams to offer Peterson were the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Miami Hurricanes, the Texas Longhorns, the Texas A&M Aggies, the UCLA Bruins and the USC Trojans. Then-running backs coach Cale Gundy was Peterson’s primary recruiter to Oklahoma. Gundy is the younger brother of Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy and is still with the OU program.
Interestingly enough, Peterson never took an official visit to either major school in his native Texas. Peterson’s Dec. 12, 2003 visit to OU was his fourth of five he made. It preceded his Dec. 19 visit with Miami but came after his Oct. 3 visit to UCLA, his Oct. 17 visit to Arkansas and his Nov. 21 visit to USC. Peterson committed to Oklahoma on Feb. 4, 2004.
Adrian Peterson is the best recruit Oklahoma football has had this century.
As a true freshman at Oklahoma, Peterson set NCAA records at the running back position. He led the Big 12 with 1,925 rushing yards and led the country with 339 carries. Along with 15 trips to pay dirt, Peterson was a unanimous All-American, First-Team All-Big 12, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a finalist for both the Doak Walker Award and the Heisman Trophy.
While he didn’t win either, Peterson finished second to USC Trojans quarterback in the Heisman ceremony. Peterson beat out his Oklahoma teammate and 2003 Heisman winner in quarterback Jason White. Though Leinart won convincingly, Peterson was nearly the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy. For a true freshman to almost pull that off, that’s borderline unbelievable.
Though injuries slowed him down as a sophomore and as a junior, Peterson still rushed for over 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns in his final two years in Norman. Peterson was a fixture on the All-Big 12 First Team. He left Oklahoma with 748 carries for 4,041 yards and 41 rushing touchdowns. Peterson wisely decided to forego his senior season in college.
He was the No. 7 overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2007 NFL Draft. Along with former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wide receiver Calvin Johnson who went No. 2 to the Detroit Lions and former Wisconsin Badgers offensive tackle Joe Thomas who went No. 3 to the Cleveland Browns, all three men will be first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees.
While Johnson retired after nine seasons with the Lions in 2015 and Thomas retired after 11 seasons with the Browns in 2017, Peterson is still playing, now on his third year with his fourth NFL franchise. Peterson was a perennial Pro Bowler in his 10 years with the Vikings, taking home NFL MVP in 2012. The All-Decade performer is now a member of the Washington Redskins.
In 13 NFL seasons, Peterson has rushed for 14,126 yards on 3,036 carries for 111 touchdowns. Peterson led the NFL in rushing three times and holds seemingly every major rushing record of note in Vikings history. His 296 yards vs. the 2007 San Diego Chargers remains the most ever recorded in a single game. Simply put, Peterson is a living legend, both college and pro.
We may have to wait until the next century for there to be a better OU football recruit than Peterson.
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