CardinalSports.com - Former Cards safety wants to come 'home'

January 12, 2009

Howie Lindsey
CardinalSports.com Managing Editor

Sophomore safety C.J. Peake thinks about Louisville all the time. Peake, a 6-foot-2, 221-pound superb athlete, decided to transfer from the Cardinal program last September and hasn't quit thinking about his former college home since. This weekend, Peake decided he wants to rejoin the football team.

"I love Louisville. I feel like Louisville is home to me," Peake said. "I didn't want to leave, but I felt like it was in my best interest at the time because the defensive coordinator and I were not on the same page. I just didn't think I could be in that situation for three more years."

Peake said his relationship with former defensive coordinator Ron English didn't seem to be able to be repaired. He said he was given a chance to stay with the program by UofL coach Steve Kragthorpe, but he didn't feel like Louisville was the place for him as long as English was defensive coordinator. After much debate, he left school in early September.

"I enrolled into East Mississippi Junior College last semester after leaving Louisville and I've been down here ever since," Peake said.

But his mind was still with the Cardinals.

"I still look at Louisville every day," Peake said. "I look them up on the computer and I see all the negativity and all that. I just prayed about it and something in my mind just told me that I need to go back to Louisville. I need to go back and help my team."

So after the Holidays, Peake began asking his Mother and the people closest to him what he should do.

"I asked my Mom and my family about it," Peake said. "I asked them 'Would I look stupid if I went back to Louisville?' and my Mom said 'No, just put it in God's hands.' That's what I did, and I called the coaches back and asked them if I could come back."

That's when he started to act. He called UofL Academic counselor Marvin Mitchell and let him know he wants to come back. Marvin told UofL football academic advisor Brian Hicks about Peake's call and Hicks set up a phone call with coach Kragthorpe.

"I just know that I'd rather come back to Louisville than the other schools that have contacted me since I left," Peake said. "I want to come back to Louisville because it feels like home and I want to help my teammates."

"Coach K. is a great guy," Peake said. "I really respect him. I talked to him today, and he's given me another chance to come back. I really respect him for that. Coach K. gets a lot of criticism, but I really feel like he's a great guy for giving me a chance to come back."

Peake said he's talking with UofL officials today about whether or not he can come back for the spring semester or wait until the summer.

"I may be here until the end of the semester," Peake said. "I'd like to come back as soon as I can. I would drive up there right now if they'd say it's okay."

He said he didn't play football last fall, and the time away from any distractions has given him time to work in the weightroom.

"I've just been down here thinking a lot and working on my football, and nothing else. There's not a lot to do down here in Mississippi," Peake said with a laugh. "I want to get up there for spring ball if I can. I want to get back in there. I don't know if it'll be able to work that way though. I'd be back tomorrow if I could be."

He's also been talking with friends on the team like receiver Josh Chichester, safety Richard Raglin and several others. They were telling him he should call the coaches and come back to help the team.

Peake, who played in one game as a true freshman in 2007, left UofL with one tackle to his credit. He was a four-star recruit at Trotwood-Madison High School in Ohio. He was rated one of the top safety prospects in the country, but wasn't listed among Louisville's two-deep depth chart at the end of fall camp. The former four-star recruit chose Louisville over a host of Big Ten programs, most notably, Wisconsin.

"I believe I'll still have three years left because I didn't take the field down here," Peake said. "I think it'll be just like a redshirt year and then I can come back and play three years."

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