Will we see Peterson much more this season?

[BiggerRed]

I'm referring to the RS Freshman WR from GICC. The kid concentrated on the ball while knowing he was going to get hit, held onto the ball, had the presence of mind to get a foot in the endzone, and has the size that the coaching staff is looking for. I don't know how he does running routes or what kind of speed he has, but I was impressed with his one catch.

[Blackshirtsguru]

Make him into a speedy TE perhaps?

[BigRedDallasTexan]

I read that he's 6'4. Why haven't we seen or even heard of him before the Baylor game. Isn't this the kind of WR we need? If he starts playing more couldn't it also affect recruiting since we would have him and Swift, both being freshmen, and getting PT. Hopefully that one catch wasn't a fluke because i'd love to see another WR step up. Just makes our offense that much more dangerous.

[Blackshirtsguru]

If any of you have followed the KC Chiefs these past few years. He reminds me of a young Boerighter. With some more playing time I think this kid could turn into a great WR. Hell he would be deadly on fades into the EZ. We alread witnessed his good concentration!

[kramer]

Considering how big this kid is and the plays he can apparently make, will he be seeing more playing time??

 

He's a neat story , he's from Grand Island, he's a walkon and has some kind of a academic scholarship.

[DaveH]

Depending on how Fluellen is doing, yea possibly.

[Blackshirtsguru]

I think he would have a tremendous mismatch against misery's CB's. In other words he's a tall MOFO!

[Eric the Red]

He's still raw and young, but it might be the best we have at this moment.

[BigRedDallasTexan]

Why haven't I ever heard of this guy until he made that TD catch? With his size I think he can probably make an impact on this team.

[TheKiD]

Yup, but these kids have to spend a little time learning the system. He knows enough now to get in on a few plays. He'll be HUGE in the future.

[indianahusker]

Yup, but these kids have to spend a little time learning the system. He knows enough now to get in on a few plays. He'll be HUGE in the future.

Literally AND figuratively!!

[hskrfannnwk]

[kramer]

I'm referring to the RS Freshman WR from GICC. The kid concentrated on the ball while knowing he was going to get hit, held onto the ball, had the presence of mind to get a foot in the endzone, and has the size that the coaching staff is looking for. I don't know how he does running routes or what kind of speed he has, but I was impressed with his one catch.

That's a resounding YES...

 

Steven M. Sipple: Walk-on wideout finds spotlight

 

For instance, Todd Peterson’s friends on the Nebraska football team call him Todd Gak.

 

Actually, that’s easy to explain.

 

“That one we attribute to one of our Chicago boys — I think it was Joey Ganz,” Peterson said Tuesday, referring to the Husker backup quarterback. “He’s a big ‘Seinfeld’ fan, and I think one of Elaine’s boyfriends was named Todd Gak.”

 

(I think Elaine and Gak were only “friends” and nothing more.)

 

Whatever. The “Seinfeld” television series can be difficult to explain.

 

Also difficult to explain is the process by which recruiting gurus assign stars to high school prospects (Best I can tell, a five-star prospect is someone who can cure cancer, walk on water and perhaps even run down Brad Smith in a pinch).

 

By the way, Peterson, a walk-on Husker wideout, evidently was assigned no stars two years ago as a senior at Grand Island Central Catholic. No-star athletes typically attract little attention except from teammates who watch them make play after play on the scout team, as Peterson did last year at NU.

 

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Gak, er, Peterson has moved his show to prime time, with two touchdown receptions among his four catches in Nebraska’s last two games.

 

“Todd has speed and size,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said. “He catches the ball away from his body. He elevates and elongates for the ball as well as any receiver I’ve been around.

 

“You see him keep getting better. He runs the intricacies of his routes. He sticks and separates and makes moves in coverage and comes up with the big play. We’re going to continue to utilize him as much as we can.”

 

If you didn’t understand all of the coach’s assessment of Peterson, allow me to summarize: The kid can play a little.

 

Peterson is blushing now — not because of the praise being tossed his way, but because someone just asked him about the dance classes in which he once excelled in his youth. Tap and jazz were his emphasis.

 

Show me a Rivals.com five-star prospect who can perform the Shim Sham Shimmy as well as Peterson.

 

“I think Tom Lemming wrote one sentence about me on the Internet,” said Peterson, referring to one of the mainstay recruiting sages. “He said I was a 6-4 possession receiver who has good hands and runs good routes. My cousin sent that to me and said, ‘It’s exciting, you’re getting written about.’

 

“After that, nothing.”

 

This much is certain: During a dark day for Big Red last week in Columbia, Mo., a no-star recruit provided a few bursts of light with three catches for 65 yards and a touchdown.

 

Although Nebraska struggled mightily at Mizzou, Callahan said his team’s confidence level remains “very strong” even after reviewing the positives and negatives of the game.

 

I’m guessing there were more negatives than positives. Missouri out-coached Nebraska. What’s more, it was clear Husker players failed to match the Tigers’ intensity.

 

Nebraska defenders made “a comedy of errors” in allowing Mizzou to shoot to a 21-3 lead, linebacker Bo Ruud said. The Husker offensive line faltered throughout the day, particularly on third-down plays. Twelve penalties hurt badly. Finally, receivers dropped pass after pass, though not all of the wideouts disappointed.

 

Peterson, for instance, raised eyebrows in the first quarter with a 34-yard touchdown catch on a nifty corner route.

 

Not bad for a player who received zero scholarship offers from Division I-A schools. He said he turned down some “pretty good” offers from Division II Nebraska-Omaha and Nebraska-Kearney, and that Harvard “wanted me pretty bad.”

 

“I just couldn’t pass this up,” he said. “I’d be kicking myself 10 years down the road.”

 

Harvard’s interest in Peterson evidently makes sense.

 

“He’s a bright young man, an interesting young man,” Callahan said. “I’m sure he could easily recite the entire offense to you.”

 

Peterson can play all of Nebraska’s receiver positions — X, Z, zebra, wherever.

 

It’s interesting. Big Red recruiting junkies spent the entire offseason drooling over wideouts Chris Brooks and Tyrell Spain. Nobody, and I mean nobody, mentioned Peterson.

 

I had never heard of the kid until last month.

 

“Coach Callahan called his number, and he’s been able to perform,” Husker linebacker Corey McKeon said. “It’s exciting. It shows you can have walk-on kids who come out of nowhere and make a big difference for you.”

 

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.