Patrick Peterson Patrick De ' mon Peterson ( born July 11 , 1990 ) is an American football cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for Louisiana State University ( LSU ) , earned All - American honors , and was recognized as the best college defensive back in the country . He was drafted fifth overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2011 NFL Draft . Early years . Peterson attended Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach , Florida , where he played running back and defensive back for the Blanche Ely Mighty Tigers high school football team . In his junior campaign he recorded 11 total touchdowns on offense , while recording seven interceptions and 54 tackles on defense . He also returned three kick - offs for touchdowns and added 10 rushes for 213 yards . As a senior , Peterson compiled 733 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns ( 9 rushing , one kick return and one punt return ) . Defensively , he had 21 tackles and five interceptions . Besides numerous All - American team selections , Peterson was named Defensive Player of the Year by " USA Today " . A consensus five - star prospect by all major recruiting services , Peterson was rated as the nation ' s fifth best overall player by " Rivals . com " and No . 8 by " ESPN " . Prior to his senior season he verbally committed to play for the University of Miami , but continued to look at other schools . By November 2007 , Peterson had reopened his recruiting process and acknowledged interest in Georgia , USC , Florida , and LSU . He later dropped Georgia and USC from his list and added Florida State , but eventually announced his decision to attend LSU at the 2008 U . S . Army All - American Bowl . College career . Peterson attended Louisiana State University , where he played for the LSU Tigers football team from 2008 to 2010 . Freshman season . One of the most decorated high school players to ever attend LSU , Peterson played 13 games as a true freshman . He started the final four games of season , including the Chick - fil - A Bowl win over Georgia Tech . Peterson finished the season with 41 tackles , one interception and three pass breakups , while also adding a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry . Sophomore season . In his sophomore season Peterson emerged as one of the top defensive backs in the Southeastern Conference . In a game against standout wide receiver A . J . Green of Georgia , Peterson was able to hold Green to just four catches . By mid - season Peterson tied for fourth in the league with seven passes defended , and was named the SEC ' s " Most Improved Player " by " ESPN ' s " Chris Low . Another highly anticipated match - up occurred when Peterson went against Julio Jones of Alabama . Peterson ' s LSU Tigers were ranked 9th in the country and traveled to face Nick Saban and the # 1 ranked Crimson Tide . The Tigers were down by six points late in the fourth quarter when Peterson stepped in front of a pass from Greg McElroy to Julio Jones for what seemed like an interception . Multiple CBS camera angles showed that Peterson was able to get at least one foot in bounds . However , even after review , the SEC officiating crew called the pass incomplete , saying that Peterson was not able to get any foot in bounds . Alabama would go on to kick a field goal on that drive and won 24 – 15 . The missed interception call quickly became infamous and was debated by many media outlets . Peterson finished 2009 with 52 tackles . His 43 solo tackles were second on the team behind linebacker Kelvin Sheppard . Peterson returned an interception for a touchdown against Mississippi State , and he returned a blocked field goal against Ole Miss for a touchdown . He was also named a 2009 Second - Team All - American by The Sporting News , a 2009 First - Team All - SEC performer by ESPN , and a 2009 Second - Team All - SEC performer by the AP . Junior season . Patrick Peterson was named to the preseason watch lists for the Nagurski Award , the Thorpe Award , the Ronnie Lott Award , the Walter Camp Award , and the Chuck Bednarik Award . It was announced during the summer of 2010 that Peterson would begin returning punts and kickoffs due to his size , speed , and athleticism . With this added dimension to his game , and his dominance as a cornerback , Peterson began being mentioned as a dark horse for the 2010 Heisman Trophy award , presented to the best college football player every year . Only one defensive player has ever won the Heisman Trophy , Charles Woodson . Peterson began his Heisman campaign against North Carolina in the 2010 Chic - fil - a Kickoff . The Tigers won 30 – 24 and Peterson was terrific . In his debut as a returner , Peterson had a school - record 257 - yards returning punts and kickoffs , 244 - yards coming in the first half . He returned a punt 87 - yards for a touchdown and consistently gave the Tiger ' s offense good field position . His 257 - yard performance ranks second all - time in the SEC behind Mississippi State ' s Nick Turner and his 266 - yard performance . Peterson was named Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance . He was also named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week . Peterson had two punt returns against Vanderbilt for 8 - yards in week two as the Tigers rolled past the Commodores . He also returned two kickoffs for 51 - yards , to go along with one tackle . In week three of the 2010 season , the 2 – 0 Tigers hosted 1 – 1 Mississippi State for LSU ' s first home game of the year . The Tiger defense suffocated Mississippi State ' s offense and Peterson strengthened his campaign with two acrobatic interceptions for LSU . He also returned one kickoff 39 - yards and one punt 2 - yards to go along with four solo tackles . Peterson entertained the home crowd again in week four against Top - 25 foe West Virginia . With the game tied 0 – 0 early in the first quarter , West Virginia went to attempt a mid - range field goal that would have silenced the raucous crowd in Death Valley , however Peterson was able to leap from behind the line of scrimmage and block the kick . The Tiger defense forced West Virginia to punt later in the half . Peterson fielded the punt on his own 40 - yard line and raced 60 - yards up the middle of the field for a touchdown and a 17 – 0 LSU lead . Peterson struck the Heisman pose in the North end zone of Tiger Stadium , drawing a 15 - yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty , but putting the Tiger faithful into a frenzy . Peterson was almost single - handedly responsible for 10 points in the game that ended with LSU winning 20 – 14 . The national sports media began comparing Peterson to Woodson , who actually had worse statistics than Peterson through his first four games during his Heisman winning season . Peterson was again named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week . He also recorded 1 solo tackle . Week five saw the LSU Tigers take on the Tennessee Volunteers . Peterson and the LSU defense limited Tennessee to 217 yards of offense and the Tigers won 16 – 14 . Peterson recorded 1 solo tackle and 3 assisted tackles . He had 3 punt return s for 30 yards and 3 kickoff return s for 64 yards . The LSU Tigers improved to 5 – 0 and 3 – 0 in the SEC . Peterson ' s efforts have helped the Tigers to a # 12 ranking in the Assosciated Press Top 25 as well as a # 9 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25 . Through week 5 of the 2010 season , he is 3rd in Division 1 - A in punt return average at 23 . 6 - yds per attempt ( 12 – 283 ) , 1st in punt return touchdowns with 2 , and 22nd in kickoff return average at 28 . 2 - yds per attempt . Peterson is also tied for 30th in the country with two interceptions . He was in the top five of most straw polls regarding the 2010 Heisman Trophy . In an effort to jumpstart the struggling offense for the Tigers , Peterson has begun practicing as a wide receiver and a running back on offense . He may even take some snaps out of the wildcat formation . When Charles Woodson won the Heisman , he too played offense at times , scoring three offensive touchdowns . Following the season , he was a first - team All - SEC selection , and was recognized as a unanimous first - team All - American . College Statistics . Statistic Guide – GS = Games Started , GP = Games Played , UA = Unassisted Tackles ( Solo ) , A = Assisted Tackles , TFL = Tackles For Loss , INT = Interceptions , INT - YDS = Interception Return Yards , INT – TDS = Interception Returned for Touchdown , AVG = Average yards per Interception , FR = Fumble Recoveries , FF = Fumble Forced , PR – ATT = Punt Return Attempts net of Fair Catches , PR – YDS = Punt Return Yards , AVG – Average Return yards per Attempt , PT – TDs = Punts Returned for Touchdowns , KR – ATT = Kickoff Return Attempts , KR – YDS = Kickoff Return Yards , AVG = Average yards per kickoff return attempt , KR – TDs = Kickoffs Returned for Touchdowns . Professional career . Arizona Cardinals . Peterson was selected fifth overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2011 NFL Draft . Peterson signed a four - year contract with undisclosed terms . On his first NFL play , in a preseason game on Sat . , Aug . 27 , 2011 , Peterson intercepted Philip Rivers and returned it for a touchdown . Peterson scored his first touchdown on a Cardinals record 89 - yard punt return late in the 4th quarter to put Arizona ahead for good as they beat Cam Newton ' s Carolina Panthers 28 - 21 in week 1 on September 11 , 2011 . Peterson scored his second touchdown on an 82 - yard punt return late in the 2nd quarter to extend Arizona ' s lead over the Baltimore Ravens in week 8 on October 30 , 2011 . Peterson scored again on a punt return on November 6 , 2011 against the St . Louis Rams . During the overtime period , Peterson fielded the punt at the one - yard line , evaded several would - be tacklers , and scored on a 99 - yard return to win the game . In the same game , Peterson intercepted a flea - flicker pass from Sam Bradford intended for Brandon Lloyd . He tied the single - season record for punt return touchdowns with his fourth , accomplishing the feat against St . Louis on November 27 . He is the only player in NFL history with four punt - return touchdowns of at least 80 yards in a single season . Peterson was selected to the 2012 Pro Bowl and was the only rookie to be selected to the 2011 All - Pro First Team . He was selected as a kick return specialist . In Week 16 of 2012 against the Chicago Bears , Peterson was used on offense , though Chicago won 28 - 13 . In Week 2 of 2013 against the Detroit Lions , Peterson had a reception for 17 yards while also throwing a pass for 17 yards to Kerry Taylor , making him the first defender to catch and complete a pass in the same game since at least the 1970 merger . Personal . Peterson went by the last name " Johnson " when he signed with LSU , but formally changed it to " Peterson " in August 2008 . His parents are Patrick and Shandra Peterson of Fort Lauderdale , FL . He is a relative of NFL players Bryant McFadden , Walter McFadden , Sinorice Moss and Santana Moss ( his maternal cousins ) . Peterson ' s younger brother , Avery Johnson is a member of the " ESPNU " 150 Watch List . On June 16 , 2012 , Patrick Peterson married Antonique Larry , a native of New Orleans , LA .