Like his father, Antwan Peek Jr. came to the University of Cincinnati Bearcats football program weighing around 180 pounds. Antwan Peek, who played football for Rick Minter and some basketball for Bob Huggins, left UC as an NFL third-round draft pick of the Houston Texans in 2003.
Peek Jr. is in his third season with the UC football team and similar to his father, played a different position in high school at Indian Hill. Peek Jr. was a running back, and cornerback and dabbled in basketball and lacrosse for the Braves.
Peek Sr. was a Woodward High receiver who hoped to catch passes from Deontey Kenner but found himself on the other side of the ball rushing the passer. Now a defensive coach at Princeton High, Peek Sr. left UC at 230 pounds and eventually played at 255 in the NFL for the Texans and Cleveland Browns.
He was inducted into the James P. Kelly UC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023, going in with Corie Blount, a star for the Bearcats basketball team.
That makes Peek a legacy recruit. Teammate Jack Dingle knows of that pressure as the son of former UC and NFL linebacker Nate Dingle has also worn a C-Paw on his helmet, along with his older brother Jacob.
A peak at Antwan Peek Jr.'s path to playing time
Even more impressive is that Peek Jr. began as a walk-on, made the starting lineup last season and is now a scholarship player. Since walking on in 2022, he has bulked up 30 pounds and weighs nearly 210 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame. Five games into 2024, UC legacies Dingle and Peek Jr. are tied for fourth on the team in tackles while playing in a rotating 3-3-5 scheme. Portal additions Jared Bartlett (West Virginia), Jake Golday (Central Arkansas) and Derrick Canteen (Virginia Tech) are the top three.
Not surprisingly, Peek Jr. was among a handful of defensive players getting extra work in after a recent practice. The group included captain Canteen, but also freshman Jiquan Sanks. Sanks, Mekhi Miller and Peek Jr. have shared the star position in the defensive backfield. Combined they have 52 tackles, with Peek Jr. leading the way with 19. Marqavious Saboor is also a freshman at the star spot but has mainly played special teams, recovering a pair of key fumbles.
"You've got to work every day to perfect your craft," Peek Jr. said. "You have to work on your footwork every day, especially at the star position in those man-to-man circumstances."
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