Honors & Awards

  • Nebraska Football Hall of Fame (2006 Inductee)
  • Drafted by the New England Patriots (1996 - 5th Round, Pick #149)
  • Member of Two Nebraska National Championship Teams (1994, 1995)
  • Team Co-Captain (1995)
  • Honorable-Mention All-American (UPI, Football News, 1995)
  • First-Team All-Big Eight (AP, Football News, Coaches, 1995)
  • Second-Team All-Big Eight (Coaches, 1994)
  • Honorable-Mention All-Big Eight (AP, 1994)

Career

Christian Peter earned first-team All-Big Eight honors his senior year as he totaled 46 tackles, including five sacks, starting alongside his younger brother, Jason. Christian totaled 124 tackles in his three-year career, including 20 tackles for loss and 33 quarterback hurries.

Peter was drafted in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by New England. Due to personal issues off the field, the Patriots released him a week later. As a result he missed the entire 1996 season. The New York Giants signed him as a free agent in 1997. Peter would go on to play a total of six years in the NFL (1997-2000 - New York Giants, 2001 - Indianapolis Colts, 2002 - Chicago Bears) before hanging up his cleats.

1995 (Senior)

Peter and his brother, Jason, started for the national champion Huskers at defensive tackle, one of two sets of brothers on the 1995 squad. Peter was fifth on the team with 46 tackles, including 12 solo tackles. He had five tackles for 27 yards lost, including two sacks for minus 15 yards. He also forced two fumbles, broke up one pass and had nine quarterback hurries to earn first-team All-Big Eight and honorable-mention All-America honors. Christian notched seven tackles in two games in 1995 against Michigan State and Missouri. He had sacks against Washington State (nine yards lost) and against Kansas (six yards lost).

1994 (Junior)

As a first-year starter, Peter quietly made a huge impression for the Huskers. Peter started every game and was second on the team in tackles with 71 (32 solo) from defensive tackle. He and Terry Connealy manned the defensive line which helped the Blackshirts rank in the top 10 in all defensive categories. Peter led the team in tackles for loss with 14 for 45 yards and also led the team in sacks with seven for 31 yards lost. He was the first defensive tackle to lead the team in those categories since Kenny Walker had 21 tackles for loss and 11 sacks in 1990. Peter earned second-team All-Big Eight honors by the coaches and honorable-mention All-Big Eight honors from the Associated Press. He had 20 tackles in the last two games, two sacks and four tackles for loss with a career-best 11 total tackles against Iowa State. Peter had 53 stops in the last seven games of the season. In the 1995 Orange Bowl against Miami, Peter recorded two assisted tackles and had one quarterback hurry.

1993 (Sophomore)

Peter served as Terry Connealy's backup at nose tackle after David Noonan moved from nose to defensive tackle to back up Kevin Ramaekers when Billy Wade injured his knee following the regular season. Peter played in all 11 games and recorded seven tackles (three solo). Called upon in the Oklahoma game as Connealy and Noonan left the game with injuries, Peter responded with a then-career-high four tackles (three solo), including one for a loss.

1992 (Redshirt Freshman)

A scholarship athlete, Peter redshirted.

1991 (Freshman)

Peter enrolled full-time, but sat out the 1991 season.

Before Nebraska (Middletown South High School)

Peter was an all-state tackle as a junior member of Coach Bob Generelli's 9-0 team in 1989, his only year of organized football. Due to transferring schools as an underclassman, Peter was ineligible for his senior year.

Personal

The son of Mary and Hubert Peter, Christian has two brothers, Damian and Jason, a 2007 Nebraska Football Hall of Fame inductee and three-year starter at defensive tackle for NU, and one sister, Ashley. Christian was born Oct. 5, 1972 and was a volunteer speaker during his career at Nebraska.

Peter's Career Statistics                      

. . Tackles . . Fum. . . . QB Int.
 Year G/S UT AT TT TFL Sacks C-R BK PBU PI Hry. Csd.
 1992 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 1993 11/0 3 4 7 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 4 1
 1994 12/12 32 39 71 14-45 7-31 0-0 0 2 0 20 0
 1995 11/11 12 34 46 5-27 2-15 2-0 0 1 0 9 0
Totals 34/23 47 77 124 20-76 9-46 2-0 0 3 0 33 1


1994 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State
: Tackles, 1 UT, 1 AT, 2 TT
1995 Orange Bowl vs. Miami: 0 UT, 2 AT, 2TT, 1 QB Hurry
1996 Fiesta Bowl vs. Florida: Tackles, 1 UT, 1 AT, 2 TT, 1 QB Hurry