Peterman uses his head, and apparently aces Wildcat Games I

To promote a sense of competition and camaraderie throughout the off-season, Northwestern third-year coach Pat Fitzgerald invented the Wildcat Games.

Senior receiver Eric Peterman, who's as comfortable clicking around a spreadsheet as he is catching a football, immediately started figuring out how his team, Victorious Secret, could win the Games.

Peterman, along with the other members of the team's Leadership Council, convened at Fitzgerald's house several months ago to draft the 10 eight-man teams.

"I had the second pick overall," Peterman said. "And I picked Mark Ison, a walk-on punter. And everyone was like, 'What? Are you serious?' "

But Peterman, who became buddies with Ison during an Engineering class, knew the sophomore from Powell, Ohio, had the right stuff to help win the Games.

"He does so much community service," Peterman said. "He has, like, a 3.95 GPA. He's at every single sporting event. He's interning or volunteering at a nursing home and at a hospital. I just saw the versatility in him."

Peterman also selected starting defensive tackle Adam Hahn (they roomed together their first two years), wide receiver Kevin Mitchell, offensive linemen Mike Boyle and Alex Rucks, superback Mark Woodsum and walk-on safety James Nussbaum.

"Eric knew community service was a lot of points," said Hahn, who volunteers with Special Olympics. "And our team had the highest GPA for the first semester."

Peterman also wanted guys who'd avoid the things that cost the team points.

"If you don't go to class, that's minus-10 points," he said. "Show up late for a workout? Minus-5 or whatever. Jewelry on at a workout - it's minus-200 points if you get caught in a lie - if you get caught drinking -"

The net result? Though only Fitzgerald knows the official point totals, it's apparent Victorious Secret is a shoo-in to win the inaugural Wildcat Games.

Their reward isn't insignificant. The winners don't have to run the preseason conditioning test next week.

"That's what I'm told," Peterman said with a laugh. "You never know what Coach Fitz is going to do."

But even if Peterman's guys win, expect them to take the conditioning test anyway.

"Probably," he said.