INDIANAPOLIS -- Adrian Peterson could be the next Reggie Bush.
Peterson likely won't be the first overall draft choice, but the Oklahoma running back could be the marketing darling of this year's draft. He is well-spoken, good looking, a solid citizen and is projected as a future NFL star.
Peterson, 21, doesn't have the Heisman Trophy or the national championship that Bush has.
Nor will he be drafted in New Orleans eight months after Hurricane Katrina as Bush was. (Bush, the second overall draft choice last year, signed endorsement deals with adidas, Pepsi, Hummer and Subway, among others, with the total package estimated at $50 million.)
Peterson, though, does have the Q Score to be successful off the field.
He also has a catchy nickname -- AD or All Day -- that will sell.
"He has something very special about him. He just has that 'it' factor," said Bill Henkel, Peterson's marketing agent, who is in negotiations with several companies for deals for Peterson.
"He's got the looks; he's got the body; he's got the talent, charisma and everything. He can do anything he wants to do."
Peterson, who measured 6-1 1/2 and weighed 217 pounds Friday, rushed for the third-most yards (4,045) on the second-most attempts (747) in OU annals.
He generally is regarded as one of the top-five players in this year's draft heading into the workouts here.
"He's an explosive runner," said Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage, whose team owns the third choice in the April 28-29 draft. "Every time he touches it, there's a chance he can take it the distance. He's the kind of runner who has four or five of what you would characterize as ordinary runs, and then he explodes for a 50- or 60-yard run."
Peterson does have two questions beside his name: his pass-catching ability and his durability.
Peterson caught only 22 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown in three seasons at OU. The other top-rated running back in this draft class, California's Marshawn Lynch, caught 68 passes for 600 yards and six touchdowns.
But Peterson blames a lack of opportunity rather than a lack of ability.
His injuries are harder to explain away.
With the Sooners, Peterson had three major injuries. He had surgery after his freshman season to repair the dislocated left shoulder he played with all season. A right ankle sprain his sophomore season forced Peterson to miss one game and at least two quarters of four other games. He sat out the final seven regular-season games of 2006 with a broken right collarbone.
Peterson calls them "knick-knack" injuries. But before teams are willing to invest millions in a position with a short NFL career, they are going to kick his tires.
"That's the question," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said of Peterson's durability. "That's really the only question. He's got that upright running style, which means you're going to take a pounding, and he has."
Because of his injuries, Peterson faced a hard decision in deciding to forfeit his final year of eligibility. He leaves Norman without a trophy to show for his 4,401 all-purpose yards.
He does, though, have plenty of fond memories.
"Missed opportunities, but no regrets," Peterson said. "Things happen for a reason. What happened in the past is in the past. I'm looking forward to the NFL and my dreams."
The Oakland Raiders are expected to draft LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the first overall choice, but both Detroit, with the second choice, and Cleveland could use a running back.
"He's good," Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. "We've had a chance to watch him on tape, and he seems to me to be the whole package. He runs with a nice shoulder level, and he's fast. He runs well and catches the ball, and he had one play, I think against Boise State, where there was an interception, and I watched him chase the guy all the way to the end zone. That was impressive to me. He got up and chased this guy to try to make the tackle.
"You can see that football character on tape."