Peterson following new path
Paul Peterson says Boston College fans have nothing to fear now that the former Eagles quarterback is an offensive intern on Brigham Young's coaching staff. ``They made me turn in my BC playbook before I left," Peterson said with a chuckle yesterday by telephone from Provo, Utah.
Peterson, who started the 2003 season as Quinton Porter's backup, took over the starting role in the 10th game of the season when Porter was felled by an injured hand, and led the Eagles to consecutive road victories at Rutgers and Virginia Tech and against Colorado State in the San Francisco Bowl.
``I've got a lot of fond memories of Boston College," said Peterson. ``I had a great time and had a great experience there. Obviously, all the coaches are still there and I'm excited to see them."
Noting how BC offensive coordinator Dana Bible seemed to adopt a more aggressive passing attack with Matt Ryan at the helm, with 86 pass attempts in the first two games, Peterson quipped, ``I e-mailed Coach Bible and asked him how come I didn't get to throw that much each game. But Matty's doing awesome. He's chuckin' it pretty well."
So, too, did Peterson, who ranks second on BC's all-time list in completion percentage (60.8), and threw for 3,718 yards, 17 interceptions, and 28 touchdowns (on 305 of 502 pass attempts) in two seasons (2003-04) in Chestnut Hill.
``I think Paul's meant a lot to our program," said BC coach Tom O'Brien. ``He did a phenomenal job when he was here. If not for a couple of bad breaks -- not only of his hand but his leg -- he probably could have had even a better career here. I'd like to have seen him play the last game [of the 2004 season], but that wasn't meant to be."
Peterson broke the thumb of his throwing hand in the penultimate game of the season at Temple, sat out the finale against Syracuse, and worked his way back to start against North Carolina in the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., only to suffer a fractured left leg in the fourth quarter.
``I played for the Ottawa Renegades [of the CFL in 2005]," said Peterson, who was cut in Week 10. ``After I broke my leg, I wasn't the same that I used to be. I had a difficult time with that and it was time to move on."
