LSU junior cornerback Patrick Peterson is a lot of things.

He is:

• A shutdown corner who takes away whatever half of the field he lines up on.

• A punt returner with gamebreaking speed and an extra gear in the open field that allowed him to take two returns to the house already this season.

• A gigantic reason why the Tigers, despite having no identity on offense and thrashing about like a wildebeest in quicksand, are still undefeated.

He’s the best draft-eligible defensive back prospect and will likely be one of the five top picks in this year’s NFL draft.

But best college football player in the country?

He just might be deserving of the Heisman Trophy and be the second defensive player to win it since Charles Woodson in 1997.

Just imagine LSU without Peterson. We’ll just say it wouldn’t be too pretty.

Despite having one of the best defenses in the SEC, the Tiger offense has sputtered more than a 1970 Chevrolet Vega running on fumes. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson has gone three consecutive games without eclipsing the century mark in passing, something that Arkansas signal-caller Ryan Mallett did after one quarter against defending national champion Alabama. While Jefferson’s receivers, who have more drops than a cell network in the Gobi Desert, and his offensive line share the blame, the junior hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his decision making or touch.

Enter Peterson. As he showed in a win over Mississippi State, taking a step on his island is a deadly business.

Quarterback Chris Relf threw a pass too late and too short to his target, Arceto Clark. Peterson positioned himself perfectly and kept tipping the ball to himself until he could rein it in and go 60 yards to set up an LSU score.

Or the 60-yard punt return for a score against West Virginia. Peterson showed that given a chance to make people miss in the open field, he’s a big-play guy who take it to the house.

But let’s be frank with what the Heisman Trophy is: the best quarterback or running back in the nation award. The last wide receiver to win the award was Desmond Howard in 1991. With more spread offenses popping up, few wide receivers are going to have a shot at the trophy with teams distributing the ball in the passing game amongst four or five wide receivers. Defensive players face an even steeper uphill climb. Just ask Ndamukong Suh.

So Peterson will definitely be running into the wind when it comes to the stiff-arming trophy.

What Peterson does, taking away half of the field, doesn’t show up on any stat sheets. He’ll have to hope for a couple more big returns and need his team to beat SEC rivals Alabama and Florida for him to have a chance.

But if the award is intended for the best player in college football, why not Peterson?

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Steve Wilson is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. You can follow him on Twitter at vpsportseditor. He can be reached at 601-636-4545, ext. 142 or at swilson@vicksburgpost.com.