September 17, 2024 • 14 mins
Jeremy Jarmon gets a chance to chat with new UK Athletics Hall of Famer Corey Peters.
Peters shares some of his favorite memories from his playing days and tells what it means to be in the Hall of Fame.
Presented by District 7 Social
Peters shares some of his favorite memories from his playing days and tells what it means to be in the Hall of Fame.
Presented by District 7 Social
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to Behind Kentucky Football, presented by District seven Social.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Today, I have the honor of introducing someone who.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Has not only excelled at every level of football, but
has also shown immense resilience in leadership both on and
off the field. Corey Peters's journey began as a highly
talented defensive tackle at Louisville Central High School, where his
talent and work at it quickly earned him first team
All State honors and recognition as one of the nation's
(00:33):
top defensive tackle prospects. Corey continued to dominate at the
University of Kentucky, where he became a pivotal force in
leading the Wildcats to four consecutive Bowl Game appearances with
three victories. His tenacity and skill earned him the title
of UK's most outstanding defensive player in his senior season,
(00:55):
along with an All SEC first team honor. Notably, he
was only one of two permanent captains for the Wildcats
in two thousand and nine, a testament to his leadership.
Corey's work, ethic, and determination paid off when he was
selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of
the twenty ten NFL Draft over a thirteen year NFL career,
(01:18):
he established himself as a consistent and formidable presence on
the defensive line, playing for the Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, and
Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite facing two significant injuries an achilles tear
in twenty fifteen and a knee injury in twenty twenty,
Corey battled back each time, exemplifying resilience and determination that
(01:39):
many athletes only dream of.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
His commitment to excellence extended beyond the field.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Corey was twice named the team captain in the NFL
and was the Arizona Cardinals nominee for the Walter Paydon
Man of the Year Award in twenty twenty, reflecting his
dedication to community service. Furthermore, he served as the Cardinal
NFLPA Rep and started a book club in Arizona in
October of twenty nineteen as part of the Peters Educational
(02:08):
Enrichment Project, which he and his wife began in twenty twelve.
In twenty twenty, during the COVID nineteen pandemic, Peters took
his book club across the state using the Virtual Pathway. Now,
Corey has transitioned to a new role, applying his football
knowledge and leadership skills as a college football scout for
(02:28):
the Jacksonville Jaguars, and this year, in recognition of his
outstanding contributions to the game, his communities, and his alma mater,
he will be inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletics
Hall of Fame. It's not just the accolades that make
Corey special. It's his character, his friendship, and his unwavering
(02:50):
dedication to those people around him. I'm proud to call you, Corey,
one of my best friends, and I'm excited to dive
into your incredible journey today. Corey, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Thanks Jarman.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
Man. I really appreciate that, man. That might be the
nicest introduction I've ever gotten, man, especially coming from a
guy like you in the world. And I'm glad to
be here, and I appreciate the kind words.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Where were you, Corey, and talk about receiving that phone call,
who made it? What were the emotions that you felt
now that you know you've had a chance to process that.
What if you had a chance to just kind of
think back on at your time at UK.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Oh, Man, it was you know, Actually, my wife and
I just had twins.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
They were born a little bit premature, so they had
to spend some time in anieth you and I actually
got the call while I was sitting at the hospital,
so that was a wonderful surprise.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
You know.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Obviously it's not really something that I set out to
do or thought much about, but you know, it's one
of the greatest honors of my life. Me being from Kentucky,
loving Kentucky sports. You know, I just couldn't imagine a
greater honor. And you know, thinking back to my time
at Kentucky, all the great people that I met, all
(04:16):
the people that helped me.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
You know, I'm incredibly grateful for this honor.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
What do you think set you apart as a player
and a leader essentially leading to I guess disrecognition.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
You know, I think it was just really commitment, you know,
following through doing the things that you know maybe are
not the most fun, I say, doing the dirty work.
As far as being a player, it's not a lot
of people that want to play those tackle that wants
to you know, take on the hard downs that you're
(04:51):
gonna see pretty much majority of the time. So you know,
just honing in on my technique, staying the course. The
person that I was as a player was the same
every day, and that's something that I had great pride
in showing up and knowing that my teammates knew, that
(05:12):
my coaches knew that they could count on me, that
they could expect me to be where I was supposed
to be, and that it was going to be like
that the vast majority of the time.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Now, there were some other sports that you dabbled around in.
I haven't seen, you know, quite your skill set on
the basketball court, but I know that I know that
you wrestled in high school. Do you think there was
some carryover from some of those you know, from some
of those other sports that you that you participated in
that that ultimately helped you sustain such a successful career.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
I definitely loved all sports as a high school athlete.
I played football, I wrestled, I played baseball, and also
through the shot put in discus on the track team.
So you know, it was pretty much a year round
thing as far as the sports. That's how we grew up,
just playing sports from season to season. You know, wrestling
(06:07):
is something that I would point to and say, hey,
this had a huge impact on my development as a
football player. You know, in my high school situation, our
football coach actually strongly encouraged everybody to participate in other sports.
So if you weren't going to play basketball, then that
kind of left wrestling. So just really started my freshman
(06:30):
year and learned throughout the time, and by the time
I got to.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Be a senior, was pretty good.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
But I would encourage anybody, especially anybody trying to be
offensive or defensive lineman, but anybody in particular to consider wrestling.
It's gonna be great for your development. It's gonna teach
you leverage, it's gonna teach you how to feel body weight,
and there's a lot of crossover there as it relates
(06:56):
to D line and O line play.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
This podcast is presented by District sevens, located in the
heart of the Distillery District in Lexington. District seven is
not just a place to eat, but also a social hall,
a gathering spot, and a source of entertainment suitable for
any celebration, including the UK Game. Make sure to stop
by D seven on game day or afterwards. They'll be
(07:18):
saving a seat for you.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
I feel like sometimes people just see the finished product
versus the things that you had to do behind the scenes.
What were some of the biggest sacrifices you feel like
that you had to make to to be a successful
high school player, college player, and to be able to
have such a long career in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
Yeah, I mean I think, you know, honestly, in high school,
I was leaning on God given ability obviously, you know,
playing all those sports and working out year round and
you know, just trying to develop my body get stronger
in a lot of different ways. That was that was happening.
But you know, I feel like it took. It wasn't
(08:03):
until I got to Kentucky until I really started, you know,
focusing on being the best football player that I could be.
And obviously, when you go to one of these big
programs like that, you know they're gonna put you in
a great weight program. They're gonna you know, get you
strong and teach you a lot of different things. And
(08:24):
I think back to some of those college workouts, man,
and I really don't know how we made it through
just based on the volume and you know, the weight
we were pushing. I mean, we really got up as
far as the squadding and going immediately outside and doing
a lot of running. So you know, if you if
(08:45):
you're blessed enough to be able to play college football. Man,
you're in for it, you need to be prepared to work.
So that really prepared me to take that next step
and then moving on to the NFL. I think I
was still a little naive to what the process was.
You know, obviously, you watch games on Sunday or Monday
(09:06):
or what have you, and you know, everybody dreams of
playing football on Sundays.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
But I don't think I realized how much of.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
A job it was to you know, be at work
full time during the week, you know, from seven am
until five pm, and those are you know, kind of
on the.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Modest hour sometimes here, sometimes later.
Speaker 5 (09:30):
And so really taking a step up as far as
my understanding of the game, watching film, really understanding what
offenses are trying to do to us, you know, schemes
and everything like that. You know, I feel like that
was the biggest transition. Obviously working hard continues, but you know,
(09:52):
when you're a twenty year old kid as a in college,
you know that's you're you're pretty close to your physical peak,
you know, as far as the amount of volume you
could do.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
And all of that.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
So as you move on to the next level is
taking care of your body, it's eating better, it's getting
the proper amount of sleep. You know, it's really a
three sixty kind of approach, and you really have to
take everything into account.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Now that you've transitioned from player to scout. What are
the things that you're looking for in college athletes and
when you hit the campuses, what's the kind of information
that you're that you're looking to gather about these prospects CP.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Yeah, I mean I think for me, I want to
get as much information as I can get. You know, background,
what type of person this is? What's their football character?
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Like? You know, are their hard worker? Are their team player?
You know?
Speaker 5 (10:50):
What's their mentality? You know as well as you know
their mental capabilities. Are they a good, good or capable learner?
You know, are they intelligent?
Speaker 4 (11:00):
You know?
Speaker 5 (11:01):
Is this somebody that has issues away from football? Are
they are they a good person? And then the last
part of that is, you know, can you play football?
What what are your physical gifts? What are your tools?
How do you use them to be successful? And really
just kind of try to create a full picture of
(11:23):
this guy as a person, as an athlete, and then
try to figure out how they fit into what we
do in Jacksonville. So you know, that's really the the
entirety of it, you know, And and it's been it's
been a learning process for me, a new challenge, a
challenge that's different from any challenge I've I've really taken
(11:46):
part of, and you know, trying to figure.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
Out what is this guy? You know, what what where
should he be drafted?
Speaker 5 (11:54):
You know, and that's that can be quite challenging at times,
you know, but I find it, I find it come
to be fun and challenging and something that pushes me
and gives me.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
A little bit of a scratch to that competitive.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Edch I like the If you aren't already, you need
to subscribe to The Big Blue Brew. Sign up at
UK athletics dot com slash Big Blue Brew. The Big
Blue Brew, presented by Commonwealth Credit, is the only official
UK Athletics newsletter and it is sent directly to your
inbox Monday through Friday.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
And the best part is it's completely free.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Sign up today at UK Athletics dot com slash Big
Blue Brew. Now that you've had a chance to just
kind of, you know, look back and think back on
not only your professional career but college career, what message
would you give to yourself and to possibly any incoming
freshman defensive lignment at UK.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
I think I would have just started earlier, you know.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
I think in my time at Kentucky, you know, idea,
what was asked of me, and I you know, gave
one hundred percent as far as you know, what the
strength coaches asked, what the D line coaches asked, what
the head coach asked. But you know, there were things
that I could have done a better job of away
from the building, eating better, doing more things on my own,
(13:16):
stretching more, taking better care of my body, those types
of things, and spending more time on the film, you know,
on my own. So I think if I would have
done those things, I would have had even even more success.
So I would just tell myself, you know, as a
freshman coming in, like hey, you know you you really
have a special opportunity. And this goes for everybody that's
(13:39):
blessed to play college football at any level, you know.
Being a scout, I know that we look at players
from anywhere, so if you can play, they'll find you,
you know. So I would really just impress on myself like, hey,
you know, you have a rare opportunity to to do
something that not a lot of people get, and so
(14:01):
you know, it's really important that you don't waste any opportunity,
don't waste any days while you're striving to achieve this goal.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I appreciate it, saypey for sure.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
If you want to see more coverage like this, find
the UK Sports Network on social media. We're on Facebook, x,
Instagram and TikTok. Thank you so much for listening to
Behind Kentucky Football.
Welcome to Behind Kentucky Football, presented by District seven Social.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Today, I have the honor of introducing someone who.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Has not only excelled at every level of football, but
has also shown immense resilience in leadership both on and
off the field. Corey Peters's journey began as a highly
talented defensive tackle at Louisville Central High School, where his
talent and work at it quickly earned him first team
All State honors and recognition as one of the nation's
(00:33):
top defensive tackle prospects. Corey continued to dominate at the
University of Kentucky, where he became a pivotal force in
leading the Wildcats to four consecutive Bowl Game appearances with
three victories. His tenacity and skill earned him the title
of UK's most outstanding defensive player in his senior season,
(00:55):
along with an All SEC first team honor. Notably, he
was only one of two permanent captains for the Wildcats
in two thousand and nine, a testament to his leadership.
Corey's work, ethic, and determination paid off when he was
selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of
the twenty ten NFL Draft over a thirteen year NFL career,
(01:18):
he established himself as a consistent and formidable presence on
the defensive line, playing for the Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, and
Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite facing two significant injuries an achilles tear
in twenty fifteen and a knee injury in twenty twenty,
Corey battled back each time, exemplifying resilience and determination that
(01:39):
many athletes only dream of.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
His commitment to excellence extended beyond the field.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Corey was twice named the team captain in the NFL
and was the Arizona Cardinals nominee for the Walter Paydon
Man of the Year Award in twenty twenty, reflecting his
dedication to community service. Furthermore, he served as the Cardinal
NFLPA Rep and started a book club in Arizona in
October of twenty nineteen as part of the Peters Educational
(02:08):
Enrichment Project, which he and his wife began in twenty twelve.
In twenty twenty, during the COVID nineteen pandemic, Peters took
his book club across the state using the Virtual Pathway. Now,
Corey has transitioned to a new role, applying his football
knowledge and leadership skills as a college football scout for
(02:28):
the Jacksonville Jaguars, and this year, in recognition of his
outstanding contributions to the game, his communities, and his alma mater,
he will be inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletics
Hall of Fame. It's not just the accolades that make
Corey special. It's his character, his friendship, and his unwavering
(02:50):
dedication to those people around him. I'm proud to call you, Corey,
one of my best friends, and I'm excited to dive
into your incredible journey today. Corey, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Thanks Jarman.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
Man. I really appreciate that, man. That might be the
nicest introduction I've ever gotten, man, especially coming from a
guy like you in the world. And I'm glad to
be here, and I appreciate the kind words.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Where were you, Corey, and talk about receiving that phone call,
who made it? What were the emotions that you felt
now that you know you've had a chance to process that.
What if you had a chance to just kind of
think back on at your time at UK.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Oh, Man, it was you know, Actually, my wife and
I just had twins.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
They were born a little bit premature, so they had
to spend some time in anieth you and I actually
got the call while I was sitting at the hospital,
so that was a wonderful surprise.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
You know.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Obviously it's not really something that I set out to
do or thought much about, but you know, it's one
of the greatest honors of my life. Me being from Kentucky,
loving Kentucky sports. You know, I just couldn't imagine a
greater honor. And you know, thinking back to my time
at Kentucky, all the great people that I met, all
(04:16):
the people that helped me.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
You know, I'm incredibly grateful for this honor.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
What do you think set you apart as a player
and a leader essentially leading to I guess disrecognition.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
You know, I think it was just really commitment, you know,
following through doing the things that you know maybe are
not the most fun, I say, doing the dirty work.
As far as being a player, it's not a lot
of people that want to play those tackle that wants
to you know, take on the hard downs that you're
(04:51):
gonna see pretty much majority of the time. So you know,
just honing in on my technique, staying the course. The
person that I was as a player was the same
every day, and that's something that I had great pride
in showing up and knowing that my teammates knew, that
(05:12):
my coaches knew that they could count on me, that
they could expect me to be where I was supposed
to be, and that it was going to be like
that the vast majority of the time.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Now, there were some other sports that you dabbled around in.
I haven't seen, you know, quite your skill set on
the basketball court, but I know that I know that
you wrestled in high school. Do you think there was
some carryover from some of those you know, from some
of those other sports that you that you participated in
that that ultimately helped you sustain such a successful career.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
I definitely loved all sports as a high school athlete.
I played football, I wrestled, I played baseball, and also
through the shot put in discus on the track team.
So you know, it was pretty much a year round
thing as far as the sports. That's how we grew up,
just playing sports from season to season. You know, wrestling
(06:07):
is something that I would point to and say, hey,
this had a huge impact on my development as a
football player. You know, in my high school situation, our
football coach actually strongly encouraged everybody to participate in other sports.
So if you weren't going to play basketball, then that
kind of left wrestling. So just really started my freshman
(06:30):
year and learned throughout the time, and by the time
I got to.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Be a senior, was pretty good.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
But I would encourage anybody, especially anybody trying to be
offensive or defensive lineman, but anybody in particular to consider wrestling.
It's gonna be great for your development. It's gonna teach
you leverage, it's gonna teach you how to feel body weight,
and there's a lot of crossover there as it relates
(06:56):
to D line and O line play.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
This podcast is presented by District sevens, located in the
heart of the Distillery District in Lexington. District seven is
not just a place to eat, but also a social hall,
a gathering spot, and a source of entertainment suitable for
any celebration, including the UK Game. Make sure to stop
by D seven on game day or afterwards. They'll be
(07:18):
saving a seat for you.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
I feel like sometimes people just see the finished product
versus the things that you had to do behind the scenes.
What were some of the biggest sacrifices you feel like
that you had to make to to be a successful
high school player, college player, and to be able to
have such a long career in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
Yeah, I mean I think, you know, honestly, in high school,
I was leaning on God given ability obviously, you know,
playing all those sports and working out year round and
you know, just trying to develop my body get stronger
in a lot of different ways. That was that was happening.
But you know, I feel like it took. It wasn't
(08:03):
until I got to Kentucky until I really started, you know,
focusing on being the best football player that I could be.
And obviously, when you go to one of these big
programs like that, you know they're gonna put you in
a great weight program. They're gonna you know, get you
strong and teach you a lot of different things. And
(08:24):
I think back to some of those college workouts, man,
and I really don't know how we made it through
just based on the volume and you know, the weight
we were pushing. I mean, we really got up as
far as the squadding and going immediately outside and doing
a lot of running. So you know, if you if
(08:45):
you're blessed enough to be able to play college football. Man,
you're in for it, you need to be prepared to work.
So that really prepared me to take that next step
and then moving on to the NFL. I think I
was still a little naive to what the process was.
You know, obviously, you watch games on Sunday or Monday
(09:06):
or what have you, and you know, everybody dreams of
playing football on Sundays.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
But I don't think I realized how much of.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
A job it was to you know, be at work
full time during the week, you know, from seven am
until five pm, and those are you know, kind of
on the.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Modest hour sometimes here, sometimes later.
Speaker 5 (09:30):
And so really taking a step up as far as
my understanding of the game, watching film, really understanding what
offenses are trying to do to us, you know, schemes
and everything like that. You know, I feel like that
was the biggest transition. Obviously working hard continues, but you know,
(09:52):
when you're a twenty year old kid as a in college,
you know that's you're you're pretty close to your physical peak,
you know, as far as the amount of volume you
could do.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
And all of that.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
So as you move on to the next level is
taking care of your body, it's eating better, it's getting
the proper amount of sleep. You know, it's really a
three sixty kind of approach, and you really have to
take everything into account.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Now that you've transitioned from player to scout. What are
the things that you're looking for in college athletes and
when you hit the campuses, what's the kind of information
that you're that you're looking to gather about these prospects CP.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Yeah, I mean I think for me, I want to
get as much information as I can get. You know, background,
what type of person this is? What's their football character?
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Like? You know, are their hard worker? Are their team player?
You know?
Speaker 5 (10:50):
What's their mentality? You know as well as you know
their mental capabilities. Are they a good, good or capable learner?
You know, are they intelligent?
Speaker 4 (11:00):
You know?
Speaker 5 (11:01):
Is this somebody that has issues away from football? Are
they are they a good person? And then the last
part of that is, you know, can you play football?
What what are your physical gifts? What are your tools?
How do you use them to be successful? And really
just kind of try to create a full picture of
(11:23):
this guy as a person, as an athlete, and then
try to figure out how they fit into what we
do in Jacksonville. So you know, that's really the the
entirety of it, you know, And and it's been it's
been a learning process for me, a new challenge, a
challenge that's different from any challenge I've I've really taken
(11:46):
part of, and you know, trying to figure.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
Out what is this guy? You know, what what where
should he be drafted?
Speaker 5 (11:54):
You know, and that's that can be quite challenging at times,
you know, but I find it, I find it come
to be fun and challenging and something that pushes me
and gives me.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
A little bit of a scratch to that competitive.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Edch I like the If you aren't already, you need
to subscribe to The Big Blue Brew. Sign up at
UK athletics dot com slash Big Blue Brew. The Big
Blue Brew, presented by Commonwealth Credit, is the only official
UK Athletics newsletter and it is sent directly to your
inbox Monday through Friday.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
And the best part is it's completely free.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Sign up today at UK Athletics dot com slash Big
Blue Brew. Now that you've had a chance to just
kind of, you know, look back and think back on
not only your professional career but college career, what message
would you give to yourself and to possibly any incoming
freshman defensive lignment at UK.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
I think I would have just started earlier, you know.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
I think in my time at Kentucky, you know, idea,
what was asked of me, and I you know, gave
one hundred percent as far as you know, what the
strength coaches asked, what the D line coaches asked, what
the head coach asked. But you know, there were things
that I could have done a better job of away
from the building, eating better, doing more things on my own,
(13:16):
stretching more, taking better care of my body, those types
of things, and spending more time on the film, you know,
on my own. So I think if I would have
done those things, I would have had even even more success.
So I would just tell myself, you know, as a
freshman coming in, like hey, you know you you really
have a special opportunity. And this goes for everybody that's
(13:39):
blessed to play college football at any level, you know.
Being a scout, I know that we look at players
from anywhere, so if you can play, they'll find you,
you know. So I would really just impress on myself like, hey,
you know, you have a rare opportunity to to do
something that not a lot of people get, and so
(14:01):
you know, it's really important that you don't waste any opportunity,
don't waste any days while you're striving to achieve this goal.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I appreciate it, saypey for sure.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
If you want to see more coverage like this, find
the UK Sports Network on social media. We're on Facebook, x,
Instagram and TikTok. Thank you so much for listening to
Behind Kentucky Football.
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The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!