Thus, Adrian's in-person rearing was left to his mother, Bonita Jackson. They all endured the death of Adrian's younger brother, Brian, who was struck by a car while he and Adrian were riding a bike together. They all discussed Adrian's college choice, when he picked Oklahoma over home-state Texas, in no small part because Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops made his in-home visit not to tiny Palestine, Tex., where Adrian grew up, but to the prison in Texarkana.
"That meant a lot," Nelson Peterson said.
Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson's dad will support his son from in front of a television set in a Texas jail.
(Carlos Barria - Reuters)
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| USC vs. Oklahoma
• Orange Bowl participants USC and Oklahoma are very similar in terms of talent.
• Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson has a cheering section at the Texas prison where his father is locked up.
• Wilbon: The BCS debate has distracted from a bumper crop of talent in college football this year.
• The two Heisman winning quarterbacks will likely decide who wins the national championship.
_____Bowl Schedule, Results_____
• From Boise to Mobile, keep up with all 28 bowl games crammed into three weeks of college football.
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Stoops knew, from his staff's talks with Peterson's mother and others, how important Adrian's relationship with his father was, even given Nelson's missteps.
"I can't imagine anything penetrating their bond," said Ola Hall, Nelson Peterson's sister.
Not even the distance, the prison walls. Some day, Nelson Peterson would love to see his son cut back and break a tackle in person, and not on that screen in the room in jail. He is hoping to be paroled in 2007, which would be in time for Adrian's senior season. Senior season, for a kid who already placed second in the Heisman race? Won't he be in the NFL by then?
"Our plan right now is that he'll stay in school," Nelson Peterson said. "I know how important that could be."
If it is important, Adrian Peterson will hear about it from his father, a convict. And by all accounts, he will listen.
"I can't get caught up in being incarcerated, because I still have a responsibility to my son," Nelson Peterson said. "Even if I'm in a bad situation, you have to mentor him, tell him right from wrong. Who else out there is better to tell my kid than me? I have experience both sides now. I'm the best teacher, because I know the right way and the wrong way."
