Adrian Peterson grew up in Palestine and attended Palestine High School where he was an exceptional athlete. He was a five-star recruit at Palestine, despite only playing football in his final two years of high school. He rushed for 4,348 yards and 53 touchdowns – both school records – while with the Wildcats. He was fourth in rushing in 2002 and second in rushing in Class 4A in 2003. Peterson took his talents to the University of Oklahoma where he earned first-team All-American, Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and three All-Big 12 honors (2004-2006). In each of the first nine games of the season, he rushed for more than 100-yards, which is a freshman record. That same year, he finished second in the Heisman voting, which was the highest ever by a freshman. He concluded his college football career with 4,245 rushing yards in only three seasons. Peterson forwent his senior season and was taken 7th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 2007. As a rookie, he rushed for 1,351 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 14 games to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. Peterson also won the 2008 NFL Pro Bowl MVP award that year, which made him the first rookie since Marshall Faulk in 1994 to win the Pro Bowl MVP award. During the 2013 season, Peterson became the third-fastest player to reach 10,000 rushing yards in NFL history. Over his career, Peterson has rushed for 14,918 yards, 120 touchdowns, an average of 4.6 yards per carry and received the AP NFL MVP Trophy in 2012. He is a seven-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro, and three-time NFL rushing champion and a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team. He is currently ranked fifth in rushing yards all-time. Peterson was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
