Mike Peterson
 Peterson with Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||
| No. 52, 54, 53 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | June 17, 1976 Gainesville, Florida | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 226 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Alachua (FL) Santa Fe | ||||||||
| College: | Florida | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1999 / round: 2 / pick: 36 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Porter Michael Peterson (born June 17, 1976) is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. Peterson played college football for the University of Florida, was a member of a national championship team, and earned All-American honors. He was a second-round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. He currently serves as the outside linebackers coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Early years
Peterson was born in Gainesville, Florida in 1976.[1] He attended Santa Fe High School in nearby Alachua, Florida,[2] where he played for the Santa Fe Raiders high school football team.
College career
Peterson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1995 to 1998.[3] He was a member of the 1996 Gators team that finished 12–1 and won the Bowl Alliance national championship by defeating the top-ranked Florida State Seminoles 52–20 in the Sugar Bowl. Peterson started twenty-four of forty-two games in which he played, posted 249 tackles, three forced fumbles, thirteen tackles for a loss and 8.5 sacks.[3] As a senior team captain in 1998, he was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and a first-team All-American, and was selected as the Gators' most valuable player by his teammates.[3]
Peterson was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2011.[4][5]
Professional career
The Indianapolis Colts selected Peterson in the second round (thirty-sixth pick overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft,[6] and he played for the Colts for four seasons from 1999 to 2002.[7] Peterson also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the six seasons from 2003 to 2008 when he and coach Jack del Rio had a verbal altercation during a team meeting.
Peterson played for the Atlanta Falcons from 2009 to 2012.[7] On March 13, 2012, he became an unrestricted free agent,[8] but re-signed with the Falcons on July 23, 2012. Peterson again became an unrestricted free agent in 2013.[9]
Charitable giving
Peterson and his wife established the Mike Peterson Foundation in 2004. The foundation was constituted in an attempt to support and benefit under-served youth and socio-economically challenged families in Peterson's hometown of Alachua, Florida and his NFL cities of Jacksonville and Atlanta. Since its inception, the Mike Peterson Foundation has already served over 15,000 youth and families through several community events and programs, most notably the Top Dog Readers Club literacy program at the Grove Park Elementary School in Atlanta.
Family
Peterson is the older brother of former Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson and cousin of former NFL wide receiver Freddie Solomon. He currently resides in Newberry, Florida with his wife Chantal and their sons Mike, Jr. and Gavin.
See also
- Florida Gators
- Florida Gators football, 1990–99
- List of Florida Gators football All-Americans
- List of Florida Gators football players in the NFL
References
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Mike Peterson. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
- ^ databaseFootball.com, Players, Mike Peterson. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
- ^ a b c 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 94, 97, 98, 99, 103, 125, 149, 153, 185 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ^ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
- ^ "Eight Gators To Be Inducted Into UF Athletic Hall of Fame Friday Night," GatorZone.com (April 8, 2011). Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ National Football League, Draft History, 1999. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- ^ a b National Football League, Current Players, Mike Peterson. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ D. Orlando Ledbetter, "Three key Falcons' starters become free agents," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (March 13, 2012). Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ D. Orlando Ledbetter, "Which free agents should the Falcons retain?," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (January 31, 2013). Retrieved May 20, 2013.
Bibliography
- Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
- Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
- Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
- McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
- Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196-X.
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