The exceptional collegiate football career of Glen Lake graduate Cade Peterson has come to an end. Peterson played his last game for Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in the Division 2 playoffs earlier this month in a 7-6 loss to Harding in the NCAA Division II Quarterfinal.
“It obviously sucks (to lose), they are a talented team, and it was just exciting to have the last year be successful,” he said.” To spend time with my brothers, it was a great time being able to finally have that last little go around.”
Although the road as a Laker has come to an end for Peterson, there are no days off, as he will be signing with an agent and training for a pro-day to see if the NFL or another professional football league comes calling.
Peterson started as quarterback for GVSU the last three seasons, and finished his career as one of the best to wear the iconic GVSU black, blue, and white.
In 2023, Peterson threw for 5,115 yards and 47 passing touchdowns, while rushing for 1,261 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. He became the fourth GVSU quarterback to reach the 1,000-yard rushing and 4,000-yard passing mark. In total, he accounted for 6,376 yards of total offense in his career. For his efforts in 2023, Peterson has been nominated for the 2023 Harlon Hill award, which is equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in Division I football. The Harlon Hill award will be announced at 10 a.m. Friday.
“I was extremely proud of that, but I mean, most of all, it was just being able to compete with the guys on this team,” he said. “It meant the world to me. I can happily say that we went out on a good run. The accolades are cool and all, but just being able to spend that time with (my teammates) was great.”
Peterson also took home the GLIAC conference player of the year.
“GVSU is a very traditional, historical program with a lot of success. So just being able to be a part of that and have the success that we did while we were here. It means the world,” he said.
Peterson garnered attention from college football programs for his stand out play during his prep days at Glen Lake. He played for coach Jerry Angers and played on varsity all four years. Peterson threw for 1,430 yards and 22 touchdowns, while rushing for 846 yards and nine touchdowns, which earned him All-State recognition.
After receiving interest from various Division I and II programs, Peterson decided to trade in one Laker uniform for another when he graduated in 2017.
As a freshman, Peterson redshirted, before seeing his first action as a sophomore. He played in nine games and started twice at quarterback for GVSU.
That was only the beginning as he went on to start for GVSU the next three years, earning GVSU’s Most Valuable Player award three years in a row.
“I fell in love with the place as soon as I got here. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs at this place and honestly I wanted to come back for the last year just because I had some unfinished business that I really wanted to take care of. I wanted to be able to enjoy my last year with my brothers being on the team,” he said. “We got to achieve some goals that we haven’t done here (GVSU) in a long time.”
Peterson still has two brothers on the team Drew and Brett.
Peterson will take life lessons of battling through adversity, ability to compose himself as well as leadership attributes.
“I feel leadership and composure abilities that I wouldn’t have gotten if I hadn’t been at a place like Grand Valley,” he said. “(GVSU) holds a special place in my heart ... there’s a lot of unknown in the future, but I think that a lot of characteristics going forward that I’ll be able to use in my life.”
Peterson will graduate from GVSU with a double-major in finance and business management.
“I’m just excited because I’ll be able to come back and watch them … I’ll be able to finally come back and be a spectator and I’m excited to do that because I’ve been a player for so long and it’ll be a good little refresher to be able to come back, support them and support the guys that have been on the team with me for a while,” Peterson said.
One of Peterson’s favorite moments of the season in 2023 was sending Ferris State packing in the regular season and playoffs.
“It felt really good, obviously beating the back-to-back national champions. They ended our season last year and that was a heartbreaker. It just felt good because we had a lot going on, and you don’t wanna settle it at that,” he said.
