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FRESNO, Calif. - Thirteen months ago Fresno State wide receiver Aaron Peck was poised for a big senior year. He was in the best shape of his life, impressing in fall camp and was the Bulldogs' most experienced receiver in a group of talented but young players.

Then that all changed with one step.

Peck recalled going up for a routine jump ball in practice, but when he got up and started to run back to the line of scrimmage, he felt a burning sensation in his left foot. He took the rest of practice off, but continued to feel pain when walking around. With the pain still there the following day, x-rays gave Peck the news no athlete wants to hear—season-ending surgery.

"Just having that taken away, it hurt," he said of losing his senior season.

Peck though was fortunate enough to have not used a redshirt season during his Fresno State career. It was an opportunity to work, learn and prepare himself for 2016.

In the meantime, he couldn't sit and sulk after the injury, even if it was far worse than a simple ankle sprain—the worst injury he had previously experienced. Peck's focus turned to school.

"I was just taking it day by day, couldn't play, couldn't walk, and had to focus on school and how to get there," he said. "I was crutching to class everyday, getting rides to classes. I just had to get back to it.

"Knowing that I could bang out extra credits to get my degree, that was really one of the big things for me. Football wise, I was learning by watching our guys practice and games from a different perspective. It's very different watching them and not playing."

Throughout the summer of 2015 and into fall camp, Peck was the leader among the receivers, helping them however he could on and off the field. Years earlier when he arrived at Fresno State he was playing alongside the likes of Bulldog greats Davante Adams, Isaiah Burse and Josh Harper.

"Burse, he was really smart, very athletic, but very smart at the same time," Peck said. "On the road, he was my roommate so there was stuff that I took from him that I use now. Of course, our games our different, but there's always learning tips that you can get from a guy like that."

With that trio in the fold, Peck saw little of the football on game days during his first two seasons. He had only 15 receptions, each coming during his sophomore campaign. Watching and working with that group though was far more beneficial for the young, physically gifted wideout.

After all three posted 1,000-yard receiving seasons in 2013, and Adams and Burse moved on to the NFL, it was Peck's turn to step in. Harper though, a senior, was still then-quarterback Brian Burrell's primary target, collecting over 1,000 yards in 2014, but Peck was second on the team in receiving, hauling in 32 receptions for 419 yards.

2015 was supposed to be his year, but that was gone.

"It's been a good journey for Aaron," head coach Tim DeRuyter said. "A year ago I thought he was poised to have a great season. It was taken away from him, which I believe gave him a different perspective on valuing and relishing his time. As a senior, he's really taken advantage of it."

With one class remaining before finishing at Fresno State, the business major with an option in sports marketing has his sights set on a big final year while being a guy that others in the Bulldog football program can look to as an example.

"He does things well on the field, off the field, in the community and really is a guy who has become the student-athlete that we're trying to model off of," DeRuyter said.

Not only has he become the model student-athlete in the eyes of his coaches, Peck's teammates showed the same sentiments last month when they voted him a team captain for the 2016 season.

"I haven't been a captain since high school," Peck said. "It's a cool feeling having the guys respecting me and trusting me, giving me the power to be able to be a captain and help lead this team to where we want to go."

Being a leader is something he takes personal. It's about holding himself accountable so that he can hold others accountable. It's a responsibility that Peck embraces.

He's experienced winning championships and the disappointment of defeat. He's dealt with injury and the subsequent rehabilitation process. He's been a Mountain West All-Academic performer in the classroom and has completed a sports marketing internship with the Fresno State athletic department. And now he is the face of a unified marketing campaign between Fresno State Athletics and University Advancement that falls in line with University President Joseph I. Castro's mission of having academics and athletics rise together.

Entering the 2016 campaign as the elder statesman of the receiving corps, and as the leading receiver with 47 career receptions, Peck put on a display of things to come at Nebraska on Sept. 3 in front a sold out crowd of 90,013 at Memorial Stadium. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound receiver grabbed a career-high nine receptions for 112 yards, the first 100-yard game of his career. He tiptoed the sidelines, went across the middle and even dragged defenders.

Peck also showed off his basketball background by leaping up in the back of the end zone and hauling in an acrobatic catch in which his helmet was knocked off. The ensuing display of emotion that he showed after popping up was the culmination of not having played a game since the end of 2015. It was a moment of pure joy and passion for a player desperately seeking to lead his team.

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – Season tickets, mini plans and single-game tickets for the 2016 Fresno State football season are now on sale at GoBulldogs.com or by calling 559-278-3647. 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.

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