Peek

        As good a player as Antwan Peek has been for the University of Cincinnati — he already holds every major sack record at the school — his greatest football honors could be ahead of him. The redshirt senior defensive end already is a preseason candidate for the Nagurski and Lombardi awards.

        As good a person as Peek has been — he was one of five student-athletes honored in June by the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics for overcoming great obstacles to achieve academic success — he says his one-game suspension last season helped him build character.

        “It's part of life's learning,” he said.

Antwan Peeks goes through spring drills. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        Peek was suspended for the fourth game of the season after school officials learned he had used his scholarship privileges to get a free textbook for his brother. Mike Peek was taking a biology class at UC; he needed the summer credit hours to transfer from junior college to South Dakota State to play basketball.

        “I thought I'd help him,” Antwan Peek said. “Really, I didn't know it was going to be as big of a deal as it was.”

        Antwan Peek had violated NCAA regulations.

        The incident was unlike the Antwan Peek people had known. Besides enduring a tough childhood to become a dean's list student at UC, he

        is active in the PSI Group — Postpone Sexual Intercourse — helping educate elementary and high school students on the dangers of being sexually active.

        “What people see (of me) is important to me,” Peek said.

        He said people have been understanding about his situation, realizing it can be tough to say no to family, and that has helped him deal with all this.

        “(People) know I didn't mean anything,” he said. “I wasn't trying to do anything illegal.”

        Mike Peek did transfer to South Dakota State, where he averaged 5.5 points a game last season. Still, Antwan Peek concedes he has to be smarter about helping, that he can't repeat what he did.

        “I will never do it again,” Peek said. “It's going to be situations that even with your family members, you have to say, "I can't do it.' I'll try to help them out in other ways. That's what I would advise any of the other players that has a relative and wants to help them out.”

        Sitting out the Oct.6 game against Tulane was hard. UC won 46-33, but “I had to miss out on sacks that were wide open,” Peek said.

        Peek doesn't miss out on sacks very often. He holds school records for sacks in a game (four vs. Louisiana-Monroe in 2001), season (12.5 in 2001) and career (21).

        Still, at 235 pounds last season, he was relatively underweight for a defensive end who hopes to keep improving and advance to the NFL in 2003. So the 6-foot-2 Peek added 13 pounds from last season to reach 248 for spring practice, which ends Saturday. His goal is 250 pounds. The weight has come from the weight room combined with better nutrition — meaning fewer trips to Burger King.

        “He's grown more into the position now,” UC head coach Rick Minter said. “He looks more like a defensive end. He's going to be as talented as most guys in the country.”

UC's Peek puts on weight, forgets mistake UC coaches hold free clinic UC invites fans to celebrate basketball season

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