Big 12 Football: 50 best players of all-time

Big 12 Football best players of all-time: 2. Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma football

Our No. 2 all-time Big 12 player is none other than former Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson. “All Day” was a beast for the Sooners and finished his career with them as one of the more decorated backs in school history.

As a freshman in 2004, he was the No. 1 back in the nation with an unbelievable 1,925 yards on the ground. If that by itself wasn’t impressive enough, he had the most 100-yard games from a freshman, with 11.

Peterson was named an All-American for his efforts that season and there were expectations that he would continue to shatter records. That ended up not happening as he dealt with some injuries in 2006, which proved to be his final collegiate season.

Despite playing in just seven games that season, Peterson still managed 1,012 yards and 12 touchdowns. Simply put, this kid was unstoppable and that’s why he was taken at No. 7 overall in the 2007 NFL Draft.

As for his NFL career, AD only continued to prove he’s one of the best in the game. He spent 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before moving on to the New Orleans Saints. He has also had stints with the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Football Team before spending 2020 with the Detroit Lions.

At the age of 35, he had 604 yards and seven touchdowns and enters 2021 with 14,820 career yards, good for fifth all-time and 118 touchdowns. Peterson still wants to keep playing and it’s highly likely that he will get a chance to catch on somewhere this coming season as well.