Darryn Peterson
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Absolutely do not click (new video sept 30 2025): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjs1LR1sarQ
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@BShark Comments on that story are brutal. About 90% claim all the quotes are lies, including extensive staff and player discussions of the problems DP had this year.
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that's your average athletic comment section
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@rcjhdraft yep, that place reeks. Story is great imo
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Your NY Times link calls it right.
I looked back at my posts on this thread... hate to call out the critics with an "I told you so" but I was pretty accurate on my call.
Here it is:
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3 Dec 2025, 19:56
I still have confidence in his return and this is all a legitimate concern about his health.=====================
16 Dec 2025, 09:26 I don't think DP tweaked anything. I think he's just super sensitive to tightening and Self put down a rule on the max he can play in a game, plus, the option to pull him if he sees him labor. I think the media is just looking for a story.=====================
6 Jan 2026, 14:23I find it highly likely DP has overtrained. I know I am going against the grain here because everyone wants to see him dominate and bring us to another title... but I've been impressed with his discipline to stick to a protocol. I'm certain it was that same discipline that brought him to this level in the first place.
It's easy for all of us to gripe at him and call him "oversensitive" to his situation. None of us had to endure what he did to get to this level, nor do we really comprehend what's at risk if he gets hurt.
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9 Jan 2026, 08:21I also wonder if he might be battling psychological issues with this. Maybe a little ptsd from an early injury or issue. I don't think it has to be much to cause an over sensitive reaction because on top of it all is this huge payday awaiting him.
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2 Feb 2026, 14:21I've been studying DP's game. I've never seen a college player so perfect on fundamentals. Those fundamentals weren't a God-given talent. He's worked his butt off his whole life to develop DP. But here is the deal... so has a lot of great players, but none reach the pinnacle of fundamental perfection like DP. That tells me he sits in the Top 1% of OCD perfection. Everything has to be perfect for him. So that same high-strung sensitivity he has for the game is also there assessing his second-by-second health bio during games. When he senses even a tiny tightness, or being tired a bit too much, he decides that puts him at a higher-level of injury risk.
If you study him closely, right now, when he's in a game you can tell how well he feels. Sometimes he gives near 100%, while other times he's not nearly as aggressive. He dials in an EXACT level of aggression.
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Darryn owes us another year. This could be a national title team next year if that's what guys want. It would be a miracle I know, but sometimes guys surprise. If he leaves like expected, even though he hinted at least a little that it could happen a few weeks ago, he'll just be another in the long list of OAD's who brought us nothing.
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What do you think about above commentary
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@AsadZ Agree. So many other freshmen made so much more significant impact on their teams.
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@wissox83 I remain a solid DP fan. But I'm not sure it's a great thing if he came back. None of this was his fault... but I think Self made a huge error in over-promoting DP before the season started by saying he was the most-talented player he has coached.
All that praise created the situation where our other players felt obligated to let DP take over games (which translated to them playing laid back).
Competition and "team play" overlap. I'm not saying players need to over-compete against each other, but no one gets a free pass. Players like Melvin were very capable of stealing more limelight this year.
I'm not trying to create drama here... the impact was actually subtle but when executed, we all know what we saw.
I wish no ill will feelings towards any of our players or Coach Self. This was a learning experience. And now we know!
