The Daily Hoosier
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Trending
    • IU football snap counts, notes and numbers for the defense through four weeks
    • Six questions about IU men’s basketball, six weeks from the start of the season
    • IU women’s basketball is top-10 in ESPN’s preseason rankings
    • More IU basketball recruiting housekeeping notes as field continues to narrow
    • Watch: IU basketball media day Q&As with Kel’el Ware and Anthony Walker
    • The Daily Hoosier Report: The Latest in IU News and Recruiting Notes (9/28)
    • Tip time and television revealed for IU basketball vs. Auburn in December
    • Watch: IU football coach Tom Allen with final Thursday thoughts on Maryland
    • Sign Up
    • About/Support
    • Jobs
    • Tickets
      • IUBB Tickets (Stubhub)
      • IUFB Tickets (Stubhub)
    • Shop
      • Official IU Store
      • IU Adidas Store
      • Amazon: Support TDH
      • IU Memorabilia
      • IU Press (Books)
      • The Daily Hoosier T-Shirt
    • Radio/Podcasts
    • Pro IU
      • IUBB NBA
      • IUFB NFL
      • IUBASE MLB
    • Forum
      • Disqus Forum
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    The Daily HoosierThe Daily Hoosier
    Friday, September 29
    • IU Basketball
      • Latest IU Basketball News
      • IU Basketball 2023-24 Schedule
      • IU Basketball 23-24 Roster/Staff
      • Offseason Roster Activity Tracker
      • Scholarship Chart
      • Future Schedules
      • 2022-23 Big Ten Standings
      • 2022-23 IU Basketball Stats
      • Rankings & Bracketology
      • IU Basketball Media Guide
    • IU Football
      • Latest IU Football News
      • IU Football: The 2023 Schedule
      • Roster
      • 2023 IUFB Stats
      • 2023 B1G Standings
      • Future Opponents through 2031
      • IUFB 2023 Media Guide
    • IU Recruiting
      • IU Basketball Recruiting News
      • IU Football Recruiting News
      • IUBB 2024-2026 Prospects
      • Recruit Interviews
      • Recruit Highlights
      • CBB Team Rankings
      • IU Football Recruiting Commits
    • IU Women’s Basketball
      • IU Women’s Basketball News
      • 22-23 Schedule
      • Big Ten Standings
    • IU Men’s Soccer
      • 2022 schedule
      • 2022 NCAA Tournament Bracket
      • Indiana Men’s Soccer: Program History
    • More Hoosiers
      • Fan and Business NIL options
      • IU Baseball
        • Baseball Schedule (links to iuhoosiers.com)
        • 2021 Stats (links to iuhoosiers.com)
        • Big Ten Standings
      • IU Swim & Dive
      • IU Olympic Results
    • Hoosier History
      • March Madness Classics
      • Basketball History
      • Football History
      • IUFB Best Seasons
      • IUFB All-Time Top 10 Players
    The Daily Hoosier

    ‘He’s like a savant’: 2024 CB commit Christian Peterson quickly thrived after position change

    Seth TowBy Seth TowJune 16, 2023 IU Football Recruiting 2 Comments
    Photo via Carmel Football on Instagram
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    When Christian Peterson arrived at Carmel High School last year, he’d never played cornerback.

    The recent IU commit spent the first two years of his high school career playing wide receiver at Pike High School, and he transferred to Carmel ahead of his junior year. The Greyhounds had a need at cornerback, with multiple Division I-quality receivers already on the roster. Head coach John Hebert saw Peterson as a versatile athlete, and proposed moving him to corner.

    Peterson gave it a try, and Hebert quickly realized it was a good move. Peterson immediately stood out at cornerback, both in the weight room and on the practice field. And he only got better.

    “He looked that way right away. He’s like a savant. Like those people that sit down at the piano, they’ve never played before, and they’re playing Mozart,” Hebert said. “He has become much more refined, just with his growth and maturation as a young man. He’s significantly better than when he got here. But when he got here, his raw ability was off the charts, and he knows how to apply it.”

    Peterson turned that ability into a strong season at Carmel. He tied for the team lead with three interceptions, recorded four pass deflections, and blocked a field goal.

    It took some mental adjustment for Peterson after switching positions, but that period didn’t last long. He rapidly improved and realized his potential.

    During Carmel’s midseason game against North Central, Peterson lined up against Minnesota incoming freshman TJ McWilliams. And Peterson made some big plays that night, including an interception that Hebert said drew disbelieving reactions from the crowd.

    “After that game, I was like, ‘I know if I can do this against that caliber of player, I can really do this at the next level,” Peterson said.

    Part of what helped Peterson adapt to the new position was watching film of some top NFL cornerbacks. He specifically likes to watch Sauce Gardner, Jaycee Horn, Tariq Woolen, and Patrick Surtain II. Peterson sees things in all of their games that he tries to implement into his own.

    Switching positions meant learning to watch the game differently, and watching some of the NFL’s best helped him do that.

    “You just watch things on YouTube, like press technique and things like that,” Peterson said. “After that, I was pretty much just watching guys like that, seeing the things that they do, seeing how they move, and stuff like that.”

    Indiana was the only power five school to offer Peterson a scholarship. Most of his offers came from the MAC — over half the conference offered Peterson scholarships.

    Peterson came to Bloomington for a camp in early June, and felt he could earn an offer if he performed well there. He did just that.

    He liked what he saw of IU’s facilities at that camp. But the biggest thing that set the Hoosiers apart for Peterson was the coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri visited Peterson at school, and that stuck out. And he formed connections with graduate assistant Thomas Allen, cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby, and tight ends coach Kevin Wright, who coached at Carmel from 2010 to 2014.

    And, Peterson said, head coach Tom Allen’s strong personal interest in him resonated.

    “He liked my ability to play a lot of positions — like on film, I’m playing a lot of wildcat, playing corner, I’m returning. He liked seeing me with the ball in my hands. He could see I’m a competitor,” Peterson said. “And a lot of visions he has for me at IU, I like for myself. So it was a good fit.”

    Hebert said the IU staff mentioned playing Peterson at nickel, which would be another adjustment. But Hebert thinks Peterson would succeed at any position in the secondary as he continues to build strength.

    The biggest thing Hebert said the Hoosiers are getting in Peterson is a consistent competitor who would continually push himself past his limits if nobody stopped him. Carmel uses GPS trackers during practice for its top players to get data on how much they’re doing, and Hebert said that data often suggests pulling Peterson back to prevent injuries. But Peterson doesn’t let the coaches do that without debating, wanting to work as hard as possible for as long as possible. Hebert loves that drive.

    And, Hebert added, IU is getting a player who’s ready for big moments.

    “He just has no fear, no hesitation. He’s not full of himself, but he’s extremely confident in his abilities. I don’t see any sign of apprehension or being worried about measuring up to expectations,” Hebert said. “He competes with a free mind, whether there are 10,000 people there or if it’s just practice. That’s when I think you know you have a really special kind of guy that’s right where he should be, which is playing football, playing the position he’s playing. He’s just a natural.”


    The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

    • Find us on Facebook:  thedailyhoosier
    • You can follow us on Twitter:  @daily_hoosier
    • Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.

    Share this:

    • Tweet

    Related

    Brandon Shelby Christian Peterson Kevin Wright Matt Guerrieri Thomas Allen tom allen
    Seth Tow

    Keep Reading

    Watch: IU football coach Tom Allen with final Thursday thoughts on Maryland

    IU football refocusing for Maryland following rough performance against Akron

    Radio Show: Tom Allen previews Maryland with Don Fischer

    Latest Hoosier News
    • IU football snap counts, notes and numbers for the defense through four weeks
    • Six questions about IU men’s basketball, six weeks from the start of the season
    • IU women’s basketball is top-10 in ESPN’s preseason rankings
    • More IU basketball recruiting housekeeping notes as field continues to narrow
    • Watch: IU basketball media day Q&As with Kel’el Ware and Anthony Walker
    • The Daily Hoosier Report: The Latest in IU News and Recruiting Notes (9/28)
    • Tip time and television revealed for IU basketball vs. Auburn in December
    Sign Up



    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    © 2023 The Daily Hoosier, LLC.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.