Meet Jon Peattie
By Tracy Gale
March 16, 2004
Hurricane Headquarters
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – Growing up there were no posters on his bedroom wall of football players. There were no pretend NFC championship games played in the back yard and not a football card to be found. This is not the description of a childhood you’d expect from one of the leading kickers in college football. But it’s the truth when describing UM kicker Jon Peattie.
“I was a swimmer, I started in a competitive swim program when I was four years old,” Peattie said. “I wanted to go to the Olympics. That was my dream, not the NFL.”
Peattie is from Clearwater, Florida, a small beachside city near Tampa. He swam for Countryside Aquatics in Clearwater and for CATS, the most prominent program in Tampa. When he was little his father would take Jon and his brother to Buccaneers football games. Jon didn’t understand football but enjoyed just going to the games.
“Being a little kid it was so cool to get to go to the old stadium, before there was a ‘New Sombrero’ [now Raymond James Stadium.] My dad, my brother Geoff and I would go tailgate and then watch the Bucs play. I used to wear those big ‘zebra’ style pants, with the orange and white animal pattern! The team was pretty terrible back then but it was something I did with my dad and brother. I wasn’t a football fanatic by any means–we just used to go to have a great time together.”
In addition to his dad, Steve, a mortgage broker and brother, Geoff, 23, the Peattie family includes mom Lyn and younger sister Brittany, 14, a freshman in high school. Lyn is a former gymnast and pageant winner who is now a competitive bodybuilder.
“I had such a great childhood, a really great life growing up. I always knew I had a good family but you don’t realize until you get out on your own and meet people who haven’t had a great family life. When you’re in college you meet people with really serious family problems, people who never knew their dad. Since I left home I have actually gotten closer to my parents. I talk to my dad now every day. And I am just so proud of my mom! She was a teacher before she had kids, then stayed home to take care of us. Now she is a licensed personal trainer and wins bodybuilding competitions. She works so hard and gives it everything she has.”
Football wasn’t even Peattie’s second great sports love – that honor would go to soccer. Peattie was such a good soccer player that he made some international junior teams.
“Everything for me growing up was about soccer. I was a huge soccer fan and played every day. Geoff played soccer at Lynn University. He was so good in high school that college football coaches wanted him to kick, he was getting offers from schools. When I got to high school I was burned out on swimming and my mom said, ‘you can quit swimming but you have to find another sport to do.’ So I went out for football. I was a wide receiver and a kicker for ninth and tenth grade. In tenth grade I made 17 out of 20 field goals, and started thinking maybe I had a chance to earn a college scholarship. So I stopped playing wide receiver and concentrated on my kicking.”
Since he didn’t grow up watching college football Peattie had some catching up to do in high school.
“I grew up a rabid Arsenal soccer fan, not a college football fan! [Arsenal is in soccer’s English Premier League.] When I was a junior in high school and started focusing on college, I began following college football and learning about the major programs and the rivalries.”
After earning a slew of honors as a senior in high school, Peattie made plans for his official college visits. Being a beach lover and wanting to stay close to him family, the Florida kid with the sun-streaked hair hoped to stay in-state for college. UM was his first choice, but Peattie thought the Hurricanes weren’t interested in him.
“I’d received some things from the University of Miami, and thought the Hurricanes were interested in me,” Peattie said. “But then it was…nothing. I mean, obviously Miami had other things on their mind, like playing in the Rose Bowl and winning the national championship! After Miami won it all and the recruiting trips started, I thought, ‘well I better call and see where I stand.’ I called Coach Coker’s office and told him how I wanted to come to UM, and I was going out that weekend to visit Northwestern University. At the airport, on my way to Northwestern, Coach Coker called my dad on his cell phone. He told him yes, the ‘Canes were still interested in me, so we arranged the visit.”
John went to Northwestern for his official visit, and says he was treated like a king.
“They were great to me, and the school was amazing. I loved the guys up there. But my heart was with Miami already. I felt bad because they were so good to me in Evanston, it’s such a classy place. But then it started snowing and I couldn’t wait for my visit to UM.”
Peattie committed to UM the morning after his official visit.
After a redshirt year in 2002, Peattie came on like gangbusters his first season kicking for the ‘Canes. His pressure-packed kicks provided the winning points in three of Miami’s wins last year, and his 103 points scored in 2003 led not only the Hurricanes in scoring, but all freshmen in Division-I football.
A finalist for numerous post-season kicking awards, Peattie was named first team All-American by The Sporting News and Rivals.com.
Peattie is ready and excited for the 2004 campaign. He says weight room work has made him a lot stronger and since the Orange Bowl win over FSU he’s added five pounds to his lean frame. Peattie tries to kick for an hour each day to keep his leg and timing strong.
A Business Management major, Peattie has worked for his dad and brother each of the past few summers. Jon has gained valuable experience working with the office computers and being around the financial services staff. While this may be a career option somewhere down the road, Jon has other ideas for life after football, and it involves Italian food.
“I think it would be great to own an Italian restaurant. My closest friend here is [walk-on kicker] Francesco Zampogna, and going to his house for dinner IS like going to an Italian restaurant-a great one. His family is from Italy and they know food and the business. Francesco and I talk about opening a place.”
In the meantime Peattie will concentrate on academics and kicking for the ‘Canes. He hopes his career here will include three more national titles for UM before he graduates. Then he’d like–no make that love–to play for NFL Europe.
“The pros are the dream now. I’d really love to play in NFL Europe, maybe live in England for a while. Besides a great experience of getting to live in London, a lot of kicking stars have come out of NFL Europe and the Arena League, too.”
Approaching spring football, the Hurricanes know what they do to prepare now correlates to success this fall. And success to a Hurricane means winning it all. Jon says this team is ready.
“With the people we’ve got here, no matter who plays on the line or who is throwing passes, it’s a ‘Cane thing: whoever needs to step up will do it. If you are put into a starting role, you work to earn the respect of your teammates. There is competition from who we play but there is competition from ourselves. We compete for a chance to start for the Hurricanes and if you can start here, you can beat anybody on the schedule.”
Jon Peattie on The Hurricane Hotseat
Favorite UM Class and why:
Philsophy 130-Contemporary Moral Issues. The professor is amazing. The class grade isn’t based on how you perform on tests and homework. It’s about debating real subjects in your life and your class performance. The discussions are fantastic.
Do you live on campus or off?
I live off-campus. I lived on campus my freshman year but needed more space. I share a place in the Gables with [offensive lineman] Brad Kunz. It’s a duplex that Todd Sievers used to rent. I got Brad to agree to get the extended cable package so I can watch Fox’s coverage of international soccer…life is good!
Besides being a Hurricane, what is the best thing about attending UM?
The campus is so beautiful.
Favorite Food:Spaghetti with meat sauce.
Finish this sentence: “Growing up my sports idols were…”Dennis Bergkamp, he is a Dutch soccer player who has been with London’s Arsenal for many years. Definitely Bergkamp first and second would be Michael Jordan.
The best vacation I have ever taken was:
I went to Ireland and England with my soccer team when I was 15. We hung tough and beat some of the best junior players over there! It was a great time.
Dream Date:
I would take my girlfriend Crystal to a tropical island.
What are you looking forward to most about joining the ACC?I am excited for a lot of reasons. First off, to be able to play at great places like Clemson-I hear it’s one of the toughest places to play, great fans. We play them here this year but next year hopefully we’ll go up there. Also, I have a cousin who plays for the University of North Carolina. His name is Roger Heinz and he is my best friend, we grew up together. Roger is a redshirt freshman QB for the Tar Heels.
Book I’d recommend reading:“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
If I won the Lotto tonight the first thing I’d buy is:
A dog. I’d buy a Rottweiler puppy.
Biggest difference living on Florida’s west coast vs. Florida’s east coast:
Fast…as in fast driving. I am now the best driver in Clearwater. You have to drive f-a-s-t in Miami. The other difference is the parking. There isn’t any parking in Miami. It’s cool to be living here, in Miami and Coral Gables, it’s such an upscale place.
Favorite movie of all time:
This is a hard one for me! My girlfriend and I go see a movie probably every week. If I have to pick one I’d say “The Rock.”
What has been the most pressure-packed moment of your career?
I’m nervous at practice; I don’t get nervous in games. Every Thursday we do the two-minute lightning drill at the end of practice and I’m really nervous then. It’s all about my teammates and having them believe in me, depend on me. I put a lot of pressure on myself and for some reason I don’t feel any nervousness in games. Games are fun.
How would you like your teammates to describe you?
Dependable. I want them to know they can count on me.
