In his second year in a Atlanta Falcons uniform Corey Peters is taking the next step in his NFL career. Peters, a third round pick out of Kentucky, is finding a home on Atlanta's defensive line. So far this year he's recorded three sacks, an INT, and a touchdown for an Atlanta team that looks like it is headed for the playoffs.
In this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article he attributes his success to his hard-working father's drive that was ultimately instilled him:
“To me, I’m able to see the big picture of things and understand that football is just something I do, something God blessed me to do,” he said.
“I went to school to be a teacher. They were my heroes. Somebody talented at math is no different than somebody who’s talented at football. My position is glorified a lot more, but in reality we’re the same.
“I try to stay grounded. This is what I do, but it’s not a big deal to me. Sometimes, when people ask for autographs, I get it, but I don’t get it.”
His mother is a chief nursing officer at a West Virginia hospital. His father is a USDA liaison officer at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. Such parents do not raise a son to believe that football is a be-all, end-all proposition.
Clifton Peters was one of 14 children. He put himself through college at Alcorn State working at the school’s pig farm. “And I sent money home,” he said.
One quote from Corey suggests his father made a strong impression: “A man who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat – that’s what I was always taught.”
The article also mentions a documentary called "Late Rounders" that Peters' stars in:
Like his agent says, guys like Peters are a much easier sell to football general managers and coaches than they are to fans.
He is, in other words, just the type to show up in “Late Rounders,” a modest independent film in which nothing blows up, there are no special effects, and not a single Kardashian is involved.
The documentary follows a group of five players getting ready for the 2010 NFL draft. It made the film festival circuit this year to nice reviews, but nobody was going to get rich or famous off it.
Peters is the solid, dependable, slightly under-appreciated one, the one who looks into the camera and declares: “I will never give [a team] a reason to get rid of me other than that I’m too old – and that I can live with.”
Peters and other former UK players are making it easy for NFL General managers and scouts to choose Wildcats in the draft. Production and hard-work are the qualities teams are looking for and Peters exemplifies them.
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