William Percival "Percy" Harvin, III (born May 28, 1988) is an American football wide receiver, return specialist, and running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). The Associated Press recognized him as its Offensive Rookie of the Year for the 2009 NFL season.
Harvin played college football for the University of Florida when the Florida Gators won the BCS National Championship in 2006 and 2008. He attended and played football for Landstown High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where his team won the Virginia high school state championship in 2004.
Percy was born to William Percival Harvin, Jr. and wife Linda in Chesapeake, Virginia, where after his father's departure, he lived with his mother, and his older sister Lintera. His mother Linda ran a daycare out of their home as Percy helped with the children. Percy's mother ran track at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach and later coached an AAU track team. His sister, Lintera, also ran track, both at Salem High School in Virginia Beach and at Eastern Michigan University. As a child, Percy was a gifted athlete whose prowess was first noted as a six-year old flag football participant. In 2000, at age 12, he was a member of the National Champion 4x100m relay team in the Midget (11-12) Age Group. At age 13, he played for Coach Bruce Pearl and the Virginia Beach Mustangs Pop Warner football team where he led the team to a Pop Warner National Championship.
Sidney R. Rice (born September 1, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played collegiately for the University of South Carolina.
Rice was born to Ida Coleman in Gaffney, South Carolina. Rice has two older brothers, Jarvis Rice and Tremell Austin. Rice grew up in Gaffney, where he played both football and basketball for the Gaffney Indians. Rice, who graduated from Gaffney High School in 2004 was named All-State in both sports, leading the hoops team to consecutive state titles and the football team to a state championship as well. He had 38 catches for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns his junior campaign. Rice was regarded as the best receiver in the state of South Carolina during his senior year.[citation needed] He was named to the High School Sports Report Statewide All-State team and selected Offensive Player of the Year. In 2003, Rice caught 77 passes for 1,414 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior. Rice ended his high school career with 167 receptions for 3,044 yards and 31 touchdowns. Rice also excelled in basketball, earning 2002 - 2003 Class 4A Basketball Player of the Year after helping Gaffney to the state championship. That season, he averaged 18 points and seven rebounds per game, as the Indians finished the basketball season 28-0
Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985), nicknamed "A. D." (for "All Day"), "A. P." and "Purple Jesus", is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). Peterson was selected by the Vikings with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma.
While at Oklahoma, Peterson set the NCAA freshman rushing record with 1,925 yards as a true freshman during the 2004 season. As a First-team All-American, he became the first freshman to finish as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Peterson finished his college football career as the Sooners' third all-time leading rusher.
Following his stellar first pro season in which he set an NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game (296), Peterson was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was then awarded the MVP award for his performance in the Pro Bowl and became only the fifth player in NFL history to have more than 3,000 yards through his first two seasons. In 2010, he became the fifth fastest player to run for 5,000 yards, doing so in his 51st game. Currently, Peterson has the fourth highest average rushing yards per game total in NFL history (min. 50 games) with an average of 92.5, trailing Jim Brown (104.3), Barry Sanders (99.8) and Terrell Davis (97.5).