Prairie View quarterback Cameron Peters would probably be the first to tell you that life, and even the play, doesn’t always work out how it was drawn up.
But somehow it always seems to work out how it was meant to be.
That was the case when UTSA, his first choice of schools coming out of Stafford, didn’t pan out, so he transferred to Kilgore College before landing with the program that had been recruiting him all of the time.
And after an impressive showing during Prairie View’s spring ball, Peters returned this summer only to lose out on the starting job to UH transfer Lucas Coley.
However, Coley’s unfortunate injury in the season opener placed the job in Peters’s capable hands.
It’s been quite the journey but it’s one Peters wouldn’t change.
“It’s a blessing,” Peters said prior to Saturday’s loss to Michigan State. “I don’t have any regrets about anything. I’m super blessed.
“My support system, I wouldn’t be here without them. I wouldn’t be here without the coaches who recruited me. I’m just blessed.”
Peters, a junior, has played in all three of the Panther games so far, starting the last two. And that status may not change soon with Coley expected to be sidelined four to six weeks because of injury.
But don’t expect to hear any declarations from Peters about this being his team now or his job to lose. His focus is on being there for his coaches and teammates.
“I’ve been here since the spring so you can say, it’s kind of my team,” he said to the Defender. “Altogether, I’m a leader of the team, so that’s ultimately what it’s about is being a leader.”
Having such awareness and understanding weren’t always the most visible traits of Peters’s game. They’ve come with a lot of growth and maturity.
There was a time when Peters wanted it all right now, and when that didn’t happen it showed in his demeanor. Panthers coach Bubba McDowell was particularly impressed with how Peters handled not winning the starting job coming out fall camp.
“I think he bounced back really well considering,” said McDowell, whose team is the defending SWAC West champion. “How he would react to previous or past experience, he would kind of go in the gutter and shut down. But this time, he did just the opposite.
“There were times when he had his ups and downs when things didn’t go his way, but that’s what camp is about, learning from your mistakes, especially at that position. Now it’s about being able to carry that throughout the season.”
While his performances so far have been far from perfect, Peters has certainly been a spark for the Panthers offense’ since he took over in the second half of the 27-9 season-opening loss to Texas Southern.
Peters and his big arm bounced back the following week with a shocking 37-31 over FCS foe Northwestern State. Peters completed 18-of-33 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Week 2 win.
After not scoring a touchdown in the season opener, the Panthers scored four touchdowns while converting 10 of 20 third downs and winning the time of possession battle by nearly 15 minutes.
“(That) was pretty cool. It was a good experience,” said Peters, who ranks seventh in the SWAC in passing with 37 of 70 completions for 514 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions following the loss at Michigan State. “We didn’t really perform how we should have but we did put out a pretty good showing.
“We had some turnovers that I should have cleaned up on, but altogether, we are going in the right direction.”
Receiver Shemar Savage, who was the recipient of six passes for 133 yards and one touchdown from Peters against Northwestern State, was glad to see Peters get to show what he can do in a game.
“I think he handled it well,” Savage said. “He took full responsibility of everything as a quarterback. He has always been my QB1. I think he did good.”
McDowell was also impressed with Peters’ performance in that game, especially with his ability to overcome some early mistakes.
“I saw a lot of poise, mainly when he threw those two INTs,” said McDowell, whose team hosts SWAC West Southern on Saturday (6 p.m.). “Old Cam would have let that bother him, but this time he did not.
“That’s what we wanted to see, the maturity of him. He has to have that.”
Peters says it’s all about staying even-keeled no matter what’s transpiring on the field.
“Really, I didn’t let that faze me,” he said. “It was the next play mentality.
“As a quarterback, your teammates see that so they need to see it’s the next play or I can make up for it this next play.”
Peters says getting to that point mentally was something he has certainly had to work on.
“When I came out of high school, I was pretty big on having better body language,” he said. “Once I got into college, that was something I needed to work on.
“Everywhere I’ve been, it’s been body language, staying poised and ground zero. That’s what makes a quarterback a levelheaded quarterback. That’s when you play the best.”
