Sept. 1, 2008
PHOTO GALLERY
BY DEMORRIS A. LEE
Greg Peterson weighed 13 pounds when he was born and was always the biggest child in the class, but his mother still didn't want him to play football.
Angela Newkirk had her way until her son's sophomore year at East Duplin High School in Beulaville, N.C. Peterson was in the weight room when the head football coach enticed him to join the team on the gridiron.
"I was a basketball guy," Peterson, 24, said. "But then I thought, I can hit somebody without getting in trouble, I was like, let's go for it."
Peterson was a natural. He was strong. He was fast. He was humble.
He would become one of the most prolific high school players in Duplin County, where he played fullback and defensive end. He was named the county's Male Athlete of the Year and Team Most Valuable Player his senior year.
"I didn't want him to play because I didn't want him to get hurt," Newkirk said of her oldest son. "But whatever he does, he gives 100 percent and I believe that's what got him to where he is, by trying his hardest and doing the best he can."
And Peterson is in a good place.
After a 2-year pit stop at Hinds Community College in Mississippi, Peterson landed at North Carolina Central University in 2005. As an NCCU Eagle, he earned All-American honors as a defensive lineman in 2006. The same season, Peterson was ranked among the top ten in Division II by pulling down 19.5 tackles for a loss.
The next year, in April, while barbecuing at his grandmother's house in Teachey, N.C., Peterson received a phone call.
"It was John Gruden asking me how it felt to be a Buccaneer," Peterson said. "I said it felt great."
It was the NFL's Draft Day. Peterson was selected in the fifth round and is now a second-season defensive lineman with the Bucs.
"He's a very strong athlete for his size," said Todd Wash, the Buccaneer's defensive lineman coach. "He runs extremely fast for his size. He's coming from a small school, and there's a learning difference between college and the NFL. He made great strides last year and we are hoping those strides will continue."
One of three players on the team from a Historically Black College or University, Peterson is listed as weighing 286 pounds and standing 6 feet 5 inches in tall. In his rookie season with the Buccaneers, he played in 10 games and landed 19 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery.
"Don't think you can't make it because of where you are," Peterson said in an interview during the Bucs preseason camp. "If you are good, they are going to find you. And if they give you a shot, give it your all and keep grinding. I'm grinding every day."
Life in a small town
Growing up a small town and going to a small college is often a hurdle for some athletes.
After living in California and Las Vegas, Angela Newkirk moved the family back to Teachey, N.C. in 1996 because her grandmother was sick. Peterson was 11. Newkirk's grandmother died the following year. Divorced with two sons, Newkirk decided to stay in Teachey, in the eastern part of the state, where the estimated 2006 population was less than 300.
"I'm very glad," Newkirk said about moving back home. "It was a better environment for them and less trouble to get into. It was kind of slow. I think it was the best thing for everybody."
Peterson and his brother Willie Chasten adjusted. Greg became a football phenom. Chasten would become a soldier and a member of the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division. Chasten, 20, just returned in July from 14 months in Iraq.
It was a tough time for the family.
"It stressed me out for a minute," Peterson said. "I talked to him on the Internet and that helped me and my mother."
Chasten is the rank of specialists with the 82nd Airborne Division. He said he couldn't have a better brother.
"He's the best that they get," Chasten said, from North Carolina's Fort Bragg, where he's now stationed. "He's always been there for me. If I ever need anything, I can call him."
For Peterson, it's all about family. He welcomes his small town roots. When he first moved to Tampa, he often would get lost traveling from his home in the northwestern portion of the county to Raymond James Stadium, where the Bucs play host.
Shortly after moving to the Bay area, he purchased a home and moved his mother down to the city with 300,000 people to live with him.
"She looks after me and I look after her," Peterson said. "All I had growing up is mom."
Life has changed for Peterson, but he maintains the same principles that were instilled in him during his small-town upbringing.
"I'm happy I can play football as a way to support my family," Peterson said. "At the same time, it's a job and I understand that. I can be fired at anytime. I have to be on my p's and q's. I have to continue to grind."
As a Buccaneer, Peterson has turned to defensive line veterans Kevin Carter and Chris Hovan, saying "they have helped as much as they can."
As a member of the Bucs Rookie Club, Peterson helped feed needy families and he carved pumpkins with children who have suffered abuse, abandonment or neglect.
Yet he has grown much since he left the sloping hills and verdant greens at NCCU, and in Tampa, he is flourishing.
"I'm more mature and learning how to manage my money," Peterson said. "It helped me a lot to come to a big city and realize that there's a lot more than a small country town."
And he's enjoying the perks. At a July Buccaneers Fan Day at Bucs stadium, Peterson was recognized.
"I didn't think anybody knew my name, but people where walking up calling my name," he said. "It felt really good to see that some of the fans really do know who you are."
Still nothing is more rewarding than being recognized by a fellow NCCU Eagle.
"When someone says 'I'm from Central,' it sends a thrill through my body," he said. "I just love that."
NCCU alum Demorris A. Lee is a staff writer with Florida's St. Petersburg Times.
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GREG PETERSON'S ROOKIE SEASON WITH THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
2007: Appeared in 10 games his rookie season as a Buccaneer, notching 19 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one fumble recovery and one pass defensed on the year before being placed on injured reserve on January 2, 2008... Also notched three special teams tackles... Made NFL debut at Seattle (9/9) seeing action primarily on special teams... Saw action at DT and on special teams, posting first three tackles of career vs. New Orleans (9/16)... Had a career-high six tackles and first career 0.5 sack vs. St. Louis (9/23)... Added one special teams tackle against the Rams... Posted one sack of QB David Carr at Carolina (9/30)... Added three tackles, one pass defensed, one fumble recovery and one special teams tackle against the Panthers... Had two tackles at Indianapolis (10/7)... Finished contest vs. Tennessee (10/14) with one special teams tackle... Had one tackle at Detroit (10/21)... Notched four tackles, including one TFL, in regular season finale vs. Carolina (12/30)... Entered the league as Tampa Bay's fifth-round selection (141st overall) in 2007 NFL Draft.
CONGRATULATIONS GREG !!!!
