The Daily Wildcat recently spoke with former University of Arizona wide receiver Cedric Peterson via Zoom in an interview. Peterson graduated in 2020, however, his NFL pro day was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Peterson was recently able to finally participate in his pro day on Wednesday, March 17, at Arizona Stadium as he prepares for the NFL Draft on April 29.

Here are his pro day numbers according to NFLDraftScout.com.

• 40-yard dash: 4.58 sec
• 225-pound bench press: 15 reps
• Vertical jump: 29”
• Broad jump: 09’09”
• Shuttle: 4.32 sec
• 3-Cone: 7.37 sec

Daily Wildcat: How do you feel your pro day went?

Cedric Peterson: “It looked good, man. You know, I waited a year for it and I worked hard for it over that time. But I felt really good, confident in my numbers and everything, and I got some really good feedback from people about it so I feel really good.”

DW: How did you prepare for your pro day through the pandemic?

CP: “When the pandemic hit, it was hard to find fields and stuff like that. But for the most part, I just stuck with what I was already doing. I didn’t work out at some fancy facility or anything like that. I worked out at a high school field and in a high school weight room. I just stuck to what I know and what my coach knew.”

DW: What helped you stay focused during such a long break from football?

CP: “It was just the big picture. What I’m working for and what I want to accomplish. You just gotta have that mindset and just really stay consistent and committed to get the results you want.”

DW: What was your initial reaction when your original pro day was cancelled?

CP: “I was kind of pissed off at first, you know. Matter of fact, it was on the Saturday before the pro day was supposed to go on. I was working out, just putting my finishing touches on everything and stuff like that, and then I just got the text saying the pro day is cancelled, this and that. I was just kind of irritated because I worked so hard for it and now they’re just going to cancel it … . But I just kept working and didn’t let it bring me down. I just told myself that it’s gonna come, so whenever it comes just be ready.”

DW: Do you think you would have performed better on your initial pro day or did the extra year of preparation allow you to get better results?

CP: “I think maybe last year my pro day numbers would have been a little bit lower. I think that the pandemic kind of helped out. A little blessing in disguise. It just gave me a little bit of extra time to fix some things that I didn’t really get to spend too much time on. But either way, I feel I would have been ready to put up the numbers I would have put up.”

DW: What separates you from the other wide receivers in this draft?

CP: “I like to do a lot of the dirty work. I played all special teams while I was at U of A. I did a lot of blocking and things like that. I feel like a lot of receivers sometimes shy away from things like that. I feel like it’s just my work ethic, my consistency and willingness to do anything for the team.”

DW: What NFL team do you think your skill set would fit best on?

CP: “I feel like I like the Patriots. They always try to take on a lot of the underdogs, the little low-key guys, and they kind of stand out the most. The Julian Edelmans and guys like that. So if I had to pick one, obviously it doesn’t matter what team to me, but the Patriots would be a good one.”

DW: What is your favorite memory from playing at the UA?

CP: “There’s a lot of them, but I think one of the best memories I’ve had at U of A, besides scoring my first touchdown, was when we beat Oregon at home. That was probably one of the best moments; it was pretty crazy. Or, I was hurt that year, but my redshirt freshman year when we beat ASU at home as well was pretty lit times. I mean there’s a lot of memories. I can go on and on about them but those ones stand out the most.”

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