View source for Jason Peter

{{Short description|American football player (born 1974)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{for-multi|the NFL offensive tackle|Jason Peters|the fictional DC character|Jason Peter Todd}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Jason Peter
| number      = 97
| position    = [[Defensive end]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1974|9|13|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Locust, New Jersey]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 4
| weight_lb   = 295 
| high_school = [[Middletown High School South|Middletown South]]<br/>([[Middletown Township, New Jersey|Middletown, New Jersey]])
| college     = [[Nebraska Cornhuskers football|Nebraska]]
| draftyear   = 1998
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 14
| pastteams   =
* [[Carolina Panthers]] ({{NFL Year|1998|2001}})
| highlights  =
* 3× [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|1994]], [[1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|1995]], [[1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|1997]])
* Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1997 College Football All-America Team|1997]])
* 2× First-team All-[[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]] ([[1996 All-Big 12 Conference football team|1996]], [[1997 All-Big 12 Conference football team|1997]])
| statlabel1  = Total [[Tackle (football move)|tackle]]s
| statvalue1  = 88
| statlabel2  = [[Quarterback sack|Sack]]s
| statvalue2  = 7.5
| statlabel3  = [[Fumble]] recoveries
| statvalue3  = 1
| pfr         = PeteJa20 
}}

'''Jason Michael Peter''' (born September 13, 1974) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[defensive end]] for four seasons in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). Peter was a consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] playing [[college football]] for the [[Nebraska Cornhuskers football|Nebraska Cornhuskers]]. He was selected by the [[Carolina Panthers]] in the first round of the [[1998 NFL draft]].

==Early life==
Peter grew up in the [[Locust, New Jersey|Locust]] neighborhood of [[Middletown Township, New Jersey]]. He played [[high school football]] at [[Middletown High School South]] in Middletown Township and at [[Milford Academy]] in [[New Berlin, NY]].<ref>Ginley, Bill. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E1D6143EF931A25751C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all "When the Cheers Aren't Enough"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 12, 2006. Accessed August 1, 2007. "Peter, who grew up in the Locust section of Middletown and played at Middletown South before moving on to the University of Nebraska and then to the Carolina Panthers, saw his life crumble."</ref>

==College career==
Peter attended the University of Nebraska, and played for the [[Nebraska Cornhuskers football]] team from 1994 to 1997. As a senior in 1997, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.

=== College statistics===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="3" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Nebraska Cornhuskers}};" | Jason Peter
! colspan="5"| Tackles
! colspan="5"| Interceptions
! colspan="4"| Fumbles
|-
! Season !! Class !! GP !! Cmb !! Solo !! Ast !! TfL !! Sck !! Int !! Yds !! Lng !! TD !! PD !! FF !! FR !! Yds !! TD
|-
! [[1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|1994]] !! [[Freshman|Fr]]
| 7 || 8 || 2 || 6 || 1 || 0 ||0|| 0||0|| 0 || 2 ||0||0|| 0 || 0
|-
! [[1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|1995]] !! [[Sophomore|So]]
| 12 || 33 || 11 || 22 || 5 || 0 ||0|| 0 || 0 || 0 || 1|| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[1996 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|1996]] !! [[Junior (education year)|Jr]]
| 13 || 61 || 19 || 42 || 11.5 || 4.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3||1 || 1 || 31 || 1
|-
! [[1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|1997]] !! [[Senior (education)|Sr]]
| 13 || 67 || 28 || 39 || 15 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 ||2 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 45 !! 169 !! 60 !! 109 !! 31.5 !! 11.5 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 10 !! 4 !! 1 !! 31 !! 1
|}

==Professional career==
{{NFL predraft
|    height ft = 6
|    height in = 5
|       weight = 274
|     arm span = 33 1/4
|    hand span = 10 1/8
}}

The Carolina Panthers selected Peter in the first round (fourteenth pick overall) of the 1998 NFL draft, and he played for the Panthers from {{NFL Year|1998}} to {{NFL Year|2001}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1998 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1998/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> His career was shortened by a recurring and chronic neck [[Stinger (medicine)|stinger]] that forced him to retire after the [[2001 NFL season|2001 season]].

==Post-playing career==
After ending his professional playing career, Peter was a [[defensive line]] [[Coach (sport)|coach]] at [[Edison High School, Huntington Beach|Edison High School]] in [[Huntington Beach, California]], and then defensive line coach at [[Harvard-Westlake School]] in [[North Hollywood, California]].

Peter was the co-host of ''The Spread'', a local [[Sports radio|sports talk radio]] show on [[KLMS|ESPN 1480]] in [[Lincoln, Nebraska]]. He co-hosted the show with Jeff Wilkerson. The show was canceled in November 2009 when the station changed formats. He was also the co-host of a morning radio on 1620 the zone in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], called "Sharp and Peter in the Morning", which aired from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM Monday thru Friday.

Peter's book, ''Hero of the Underground: My Journey Down To Heroin & Back'' was published by [[St. Martin's Press]]. The memoir chronicles Peter's addiction to [[heroin]] and [[cocaine]], along with pain relievers and alcohol.

==Personal life==
Peter is the middle child of three sons and one daughter. His younger brother, Damian, signed a letter of intent to play football for the University of Notre Dame but never played a down due to a swimming pool accident, which he came out of nearly paralyzed. Peter's older brother, [[Christian Peter]], also played in the NFL.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers football navbox}}
{{1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers football navbox}}
{{1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football navbox}}
{{1997 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1998 NFL Draft}}
{{PanthersFirstPick}}
{{Panthers1998DraftPicks}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter, Jason}}
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American football defensive ends]]
[[Category:American radio personalities]]
[[Category:Carolina Panthers players]]
[[Category:High school football coaches in California]]
[[Category:Milford Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Middletown High School South alumni]]
[[Category:Nebraska Cornhuskers football players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Middletown Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Monmouth County, New Jersey]]