Video by Elise Foley, Brian Rosenthal and Andrew Scoggin
When most 12-year-old boys strap on a helmet, put on shoulder pads and lace up their football pants for the first time, they fantasize about playing in the National Football League. The big time. They dream of juking and deking defenders to score the big touchdown, to win the Superbowl in overtime, to be the hero on the national stage.
But not every 12-year-old boy is Eric Peterman.
Peterman, who recently signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears, is an all-around golden boy – he’s an elite athlete, he volunteers, he’s an engineer. Somewhere between being forced to try out for his high school football team and convincing his coaches to let him pursue one of the most demanding majors at Northwestern, Peterman is accidentally living the stereotypical football dream. Peterman was strictly “a basketball player – I didn’t even want to play high school football,” he says of his days in Sherman, Ill. “The coaches made me try out.” As for his collegiate career, the receiver says he never seriously considered a career in the NFL.
So how did he do it? And do those coaches get free season tickets?
Maybe it’s because Peterman lived anything but an ordinary college lifestyle. Sure, some of that comes with the territory of Division I athletics, but Peterman is yet again, atypical. “He is the definition of a true student athlete” and “a completely unselfish player,” coach Pat Fitzgerald says. Off the field, Peterman is also heavily involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the McCormick Undergraduate Council, regularly completing service projects in the community in addition to his other obligations. “He didn’t let his football or his academic workload stop him from doing anything he was passionate about or from giving back to the community,” Fitzgerald says.
Peterman may have what it takes to earn a spot on the Bears’ roster, even after four years of a grueling schedule the coaching staff advised him against. An engineering major, Peterman wasn’t allowed to apply to McCormick as a high school senior. “It’s tough,” he says of his daily schedule. “The coaches didn’t want me to (transfer from Weinberg to McCormick) and almost didn’t let me do it. They ended up agreeing because it was something I really wanted to do and I convinced them of that.” At 5:30 a.m., Peterman was at Ryan Field ready for practice, the beginning of a day of classes, watching film, studying and attending meetings for two student groups.
As seven rounds of the NFL Draft on April 25 and 26 sailed by without a flicker of purple, there was a collective groan from the NU community. After a breakout 9-3 football season with a class of senior standouts that ended in a trip to the Alamo Bowl, the draft made that success suddenly seem less meaningful. But around 8 p.m. on the second day, three seniors, including Peterman, made it to the league, signing free-agent contracts. Along with Tyrell Sutton, John Gill and possibly C.J. Bachér, Peterman has made the first cut toward the glorified world of professional football – a deal with the Chicago Bears. Sutton, called the “most ignored player in the draft” by several football blogs, signed with the Green Bay Packers, and Gill with the Detriot Lions. Bachér has not signed with a team, but attended the Bears rookie minicamp in May. With just less than 30 days left in the quarter, the pressure is on. “I’m really excited,” Peterman says. “It’ll be a change, but I’m ready.”
Peterman has signed on the dotted line, but the game isn’t over. The contract is contingent on him making the team, though he’s missing the majority of the offseason workouts for classes. Most players don’t have this problem – semester schools have long finished finals. Though he attempted to practice with the team on Mondays and Wednesdays, the NFL ruled that signees have to graduate before practicing with the team. “I’ll have to keep good contact over the phone,” Peterman says. NFL contracts are notoriously volatile – one injury or poor season could send a player packing. If he makes the team and stays healthy, Peterman is looking at a rookie minimum salary of just less than $300,000. The preseason camp runs from July to August, during which they progressively have to shave the roster down to the final 53. By August 1st, only 75 will remain, and after the first week of the season, final cuts are made.
Peterman plans ahead – he has already lined up a job if the Bears gig doesn’t work out. American Airlines offered him a job in Dallas as a Revenue Management Analyst. “When I originally interviewed with them they said the positions were all filled, since I had interviewed so late because of the season,” he says. American told him that after preseason camp or even a career in the NFL he’ll have a desk in Dallas.
That safety net is crucial, since being a professional athlete is one of the most unstable jobs in the country. The NFL especially is notorious for having the least secure contracts of any league.
“You worry every day about your job in the NFL,” says Brett Basanez, a former NU quarterback (from 2001 to 2005) who now plays for the Bears. “There is no security, so you have to go out there every day and practice like it’s your last, because you never know when cuts are coming.”
Basanez went undrafted in 2006 before signing a free-agent deal with the Carolina Panthers, and is currently fighting for a backup job with the Bears after signing earlier this year. While at NU, Basanez stenciled his name in the record book for passing yards (10,580), ranking 13th on the NCAA’s all-time offensive list. C.J. Bachér, who attended the Bears’ rookie minicamp May 1, may be in direct competition with his fellow Wildcat at preseason camp. Basanez, who threw Peterman his first touchdown pass during his freshman campaign, offers some advice on fighting for a backup spot after going undrafted. “The first thing that I told him, Tyrell and C.J. was that the draft is a crock – sorry, I’m biased – but don’t be nervous about who’s drafted and who’s not. Unless you were drafted in the first or second round, it doesn’t matter. Just go out there. Just get into a summer camp and take it from there.”
Basanez first talked to Peterman about the Bears before pro day – where teams get their first look at the crop of college prospects from a university – where Peterman ran a blazing sub 4.5-second 40-yard dash. The quarter system is a big disadvantage, Basanez says, but not insurmountable. “He’s definitely got a shot,” he says. “A good portion of the league is undrafted players. Just go out there and outplay the competition and keep working hard.”
Nick Roach, who graduated from NU’s program in 2006, recently earned a starting spot at outside linebacker for the Bears after signing with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2007. While at NU, Roach finished his college days with 241 tackles, two interceptions and 16 tackles for loss, though a broken leg ended his collegiate career four games early. Earning a starting job, Roach says, is possible but by no means easy. “There’s definitely an automatic feeling that you’ll have to perform to prove yourself to the coaches,” Roach says of going undrafted.
Coach Pat Fitzgerald, who signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 1997 after leading NU to its first Rose Bowl since 1949 in his junior year, says Roach is “a perfect example” of the route Peterman might travel: going u
ndrafted, fighting on the practice squad and eventually earning a starting spot. “(Peterman’s) got the opportunity,” he says. “If he can show his incredibly unselfish nature, I could see him making it.”
Peterman’s NU ties could help him acclimate to the team, if not make it altogether. Basanez and Peterman have been in close contact (Peterman says they recently went to lunch together). “I think that will be a huge asset to me,” Peterman says. “We’ve talked about some one-on-one workouts, and he’s helping me learn the playbook.” However, the Bears will have nine draft picks, nine free-agent signings and 25 tryout players hustling through tryouts in July. There will only be room for 53, including returning players. To his advantage, the Bears are somewhat wide receiver-starved, though they drafted three other WRs: Juaquin Iglesias, Derek Kinder and Johnny Knox. Brandon Lloyd and Rashied Davis will also be returning at WR.
On the field, Peterman’s versatility could set him apart from the other players, drafted or undrafted. Though the Bears “like where (Peterman) is at” in terms of size, they want him to work on route running and overall speed, Peterman says. His experience with special teams (he served on all four units during his time at NU), could also help. As a freshman, Peterman opted not to redshirt so that he could play on special teams, where he eventually made his mark on the kickoff and punt teams and became a punt returner in his junior year. Now, though he “didn’t know what he was doing” at first, Fitzgerald says, Peterman is “one of the best special teams players in the Big Ten.”
As his mentor, Fitzgerald has spoken to him about his experience with the Cowboys. The big league is definitely not Ryan Field. “One thing I learned at the Cowboys was that it’s a business. That’s a big change from college football,” Fitzgerald says. “Here, you graduate X and bring in Y. In (the NFL), you’re constantly competing. It’s a completely different environment.”
If he makes it on the Bears’ list, Peterman might have simultaneously the most stressful yet open schedule in recent memory. But don’t expect him to stop completely. “What I’ve come to find out is when I have more free time I just work more,” he says.
But Peterman shouldn’t get too caught up in the potentials and the pressure, Fitzgerald says. “All you can hope for is the opportunity,” he says. “The quicker you can see that it’s a dream come true, you can compete, play and go earn a spot on the roster.”
