Patrick Peterson. The name alone sends a shiver down quarterbacks’ spines.
 
Just ask Alabama senior quarterback Greg McElroy, who nearly threw the game away to Peterson in the waning minutes of the Crimson Tide’s matchup against the Tigers last season.
 
Or ask former Mississippi State quarterback Tyson Lee, whose first-quarter interception to Peterson went the other way for six points in last year’s contest.
 
Peterson is one of only six defensive players on the preseason Walter Camp Award watch list, presented to college football’s best player. He is also on the watch lists for the Bednarik Award, the Jim Thorpe Award, the Lott Trophy and the Nagurski Trophy.
 
Teams fear him. Opponents loathe him. The shutdown cornerback held Crimson Tide receiver Julio Jones to only three receptions. Jones’ 73-yard score against LSU in 2009 came after Peterson left the game with cramps.
 
Peterson said the confidence he exudes is the most important part of his game. He enters every game knowing he is better than the guy he’s guarding.
 
“You must have swag,” Peterson said. “If you ask any great cornerback, swagger is the No. 1 thing on that list.”
 
His father, Patrick Peterson Sr., said Peterson always tended to be better than his adversaries.
 
“When he played football for the little league, he was 6 on the 7-year-old team,” his father said. “He played with that team that whole year until the other team got upset he was scoring too much, and he wasn’t supposed to be on the team.”
 
The five-star recruit from Pompano Beach, Fla., always dreamed of being a Miami Hurricane. The campus was only a 30-minute drive away. But there was something about Baton Rouge even the swagger at “The U” couldn’t touch.
 
The first time he heard about LSU was when the Tigers destroyed the Hurricanes in the 2005 Chick-Fil-A Bowl, 40-3, recording the most lopsided score in the bowl’s history.
 
It wasn’t long before Peterson became a Tiger and the consensus five-star high school recruit hit the ground running. He has 93 tackles and three interceptions in two seasons, and he is listed as the best defender and fourth-best overall player in the Southeastern Conference for the 2010 season by ESPN.
 
Peterson, a cousin of NFL players Bryant and Walter McFadden, said he looks up to former Cowboys cornerback and returner Deion Sanders. He said he admired the respect quarterbacks gave Sanders and wanted to achieve the same reverence.
 
He’s already caught the eye of one NFL star.
 
“He’s one of the best players that’s been on the team,” said former LSU and current Cowboys linebacker Bradie James. “He’s definitely one of the best corners I’ve seen at LSU.”
 
As a junior, Peterson is already a leader in the secondary, prepping sophomore cornerback Morris Claiborne, who will start opposite Peterson.
 
“He hasn’t played in an SEC game, but I kid you not, I will have Morris at the top of the mountain when that season starts,” Peterson said.
 
Peterson even teaches players who came to LSU before him. He said he relishes any opportunity to assist his teammates.
 
“He knows so much about the game even though he’s younger than me,” said senior cornerback Ron Brooks. “I take things that I see him do, and I go and talk to him if I need advice on playing a technique.”
 
Peterson said he’s up to 222 pounds, roughly 10 pounds heavier than last season. But somehow, the physical specimen said he’s gotten quicker.
 
“This is the best condition I’ve been in since playing football,”         Peterson said. “I feel so fast. I feel like paper. I feel so light on my feet.”
 
His duties will also include returning punts and kicks this season, which he also did in high school. LSU coach Les Miles said Peterson could potentially be the most exciting returner LSU has ever had.
 
But Peterson hasn’t forgotten about his role at cornerback. He is out for revenge after Penn State wide receiver Derek Moye got behind him for a 37-yard score in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1.
 
Peterson said he began his offseason workouts a week and a half after the game.
 
He wasn’t going to let his team down again.
 
“I hold myself accountable for that play,” Peterson said. “After that play and that game, I just took it to another level.”
 
 
 
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]