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Oklahoma Legend Inducted Into Texas Sports Hall of Fame

Peterson was the No. 1 high school recruit in the nation when he chose to play for the Sooners, then went on to be arguably the NFL's best running back of his generation.

John E. Hoover

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Oklahoma has taken an immeasurable amount of football talent out of the state of Texas.

It’s only right that the Sooners should give just a little of it back.

Adrian Peterson, a high school legend from Palestine, TX, who became a college football legend at Oklahoma and an NFL legend with the Minnesota Vikings and other teams, is among the 2023 class of inductees in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Peterson will be inducted in a ceremony in Waco on April 15.

For More: Texas Sports Hall of Fame

Peterson goes into one of the nation’s most prestigious state halls of fame alongside Houston Oilers linebacker Robert Brazile, Houston Astros All-Star Jose Cruz, Baylor basketball coach Scott Drew, Houston Olympian Carlette Guidry, Texas running back Priest Holmes, Lamar Olympian Cynthia Potter, and Texas Southern University and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.

“A five-star recruit from Palestine High School, Adrian Peterson terrorized defenses for years and is considered one of the best running backs,” the HOF writes. “Despite only playing football his junior and senior year of high school, in 2004 he was listed as the top overall prospect. Peterson took his talents to the University of Oklahoma where he earned first-team All-American (2004, Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and three All-Big 12 honors (2004-2006).

“Peterson (skipped) his senior season and was taken 7th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 2007. As a rookie he rushed for 1,351 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 14 games to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. Over his career, Peterson has rushed for 14,918 yards, 120 touchdowns, average of 4.6 yards per carry and received the AP NFL MVP Trophy in 2012. He is a seven-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro, three-time NFL rushing champion and a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team. He is currently ranked fifth in rushing yards all-time.”

Peterson’s two greatest NFL feats were his league record 296 yards rushing against the San Diego Chargers as a rookie, and winning the NFL MVP award by rushing for 2,097 yards in 2012, one season after tearing his ACL.

In addition to ranking fifth in NFL history (behind Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Frank Gore and Barry Sanders) with 14,918 yards, he’s also fourth with 120 career rushing touchdowns.

Peterson played 10 years with the Vikings, two years with Washington and spent all or part of at least one season with Arizona, Detroit, New Orleans, Seattle and Tennessee.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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