Iowa State Linebacker, Levi Peters, will enter his 2015 season at Iowa State with a little extra motivation that he did not have last season; a scholarship. However, Peters says his thinking has not changed.

“It does not change my mind set at all,” Peters said. “I am still going to go into camp working as hard as i can to get on the field. Just because i have a scholarship i will not change my work ethic or determination to be the best that i can be.”

“It was an amazing time for my family, coaches, teammates, and myself,” Peters said of his scholarship. “It was something we had all been working at for a long time and for something you work so hard for to become a reality is the greatest feeling.”

Peters earned his scholarship in December shortly after the 2014 season ended. The soon-to-be Junior was injured after tearing his Achilles against KSU, but played in each game during his freshman campaign.

Teammates voted Peters the Jim Doran Outstanding Special Teams Player Award in 2013 partially due to his forced fumble vs. Kansas State and recovered fumble against Texas Tech.

“[Winning that award] was an awesome achievement,” Peters said. “To know my teammates respect me and respect what i do on the field is very reassuring. It shows that the work on and off the field does not go unnoticed.”

Peters, however, acknowledges how hard his teammates work as well as him.

“There are many walk ons deserving of a scholarship. We have so many walk ons that contribute to the football team every day,” Peters said. “I was just as deserving as several other of my teammates. There time is coming as well.”

Although Peters works hard, there is something about him that has Cyclone fans buzzing anytime his name is mentioned.

Peters rocks one of, if not the longest, wildest beard of any athlete on the team. He also played high school football at Fort Dodge, which is just an hour away from Ames, pegging Peters as a hometown hero.

That’s not all, take one look at the twitter-verse and it is easy to see that the Gilmore City Native might be the most interesting man in Ames.

It starts with rocking the Stars and Stripes … in his hair.

Time for some fun on the last night in Jack Trice Stadium this season pic.twitter.com/ghmO5r7Lo8 — levi peters (@levipete) November 23, 2013

Next, he adopts a duck.

And solidifies his most American phase; large fish, camo crocs, and the jean jacket.

Ripped a nice northern with @9slater today pic.twitter.com/F7SHa82epM — levi peters (@levipete) June 6, 2015

We’ll go back to one last tweet from Andy Hamilton, who dug up a video of Peters’ most famous play.

ISU awarded state wrestling champ @levipete a scholarship today, which gives me a good excuse to repost this gem https://t.co/jnBjzC8hCW — Andy Hamilton (@Andy_Hamilton) December 16, 2014

“I just like to live the way i always have since i was a little kid. I love to have fun and keep a good attitude towards things. I try to show the guys that this is all about having fun,” Peters said. “But there is always times to click it into serious mode and get things done.”

Peters is in serious mode everyday, during practice and workouts, he makes sure he pays attention to anyone he can learn from.

“There has been countless former players that have motivated me and that i look up to. My teammates and coaches push me everyday to be the best i can,” Peters said. “I look up to each and every one of my teammates and whether its a freshman or a senior they can teach you something every day.

“You have to be willing to accept the coaching from all aspects of the program.” Peters said.

Peters is currently listed as the starting linebacker in Iowa State’s depth chart. The team will open their 2015 tour with a home matchup against Northern Iowa on September 5th in a newly renovated Jack Trice Stadium.

Main Photo via Getty Images/Jack Smith