Looks you square in the eye. Tells you who he is firmly but unassumingly. Shakes your hand with a grip so powerful you need to check your fingers after he walks away.

It is an introduction that is not easily forgotten. Like his introduction to the NFL.

The Vikings rookie is making this football thing look preposterously easy, leading the NFC in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage in September. The only running backs in recent memory who started off as well were Cadillac Williams and LaDainian Tomlinson.

Although Peterson was the seventh pick in the draft, hardly anyone expected him to make such a seamless transition to the pro game.

There were knocks on him. He runs upright. He's injury prone. He isn't a patient runner. He can't contribute as a receiver. He has no experience as a return man.

And there were obstacles in Minnesota. They use a two-back system that will prevent him from dominating. Defenses don't have to respect their passing game.

But there goes Peterson again, leaving a defensive end grasping at air, barreling over a safety and outrunning a cornerback to the end zone. And he's doing it against stacked defenses.

Vikings center Matt Birk says he probably has seen more eight-man fronts this season than in any of his previous nine years in the league.

Peterson, it seems, is just better than the competition, as he has been since he was a schoolboy in Palestine, Texas. In high school Peterson was the consensus national player of the year. At Oklahoma he broke Billy Sims' record for most yards in a season.

"He's Texas, so I knew about this kid when he was growing up," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "I remember them talking about him when he was a kid. He could be one of those all-timers."

The Vikings had no intention of taking a running back in the draft because they signed Chester Taylor as a free agent just last year, but once Vikings vice president of personnel Rick Spielman got a look at Peterson, he thought, "You can't pass up a guy this special."

Vikings fullback Tony Richardson has counted Emmitt Smith, Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson among his NFL teammates. But he says he never has seen anything like Peterson.

"For me, this is the best running back I've seen coming out of college," Richardson said.

Vikings coach Brad Childress has not been surprised by Peterson's ability. But he has been surprised by Peterson's dedication.

"What a great worker he is," Childress said. "He comes with a smile on his face every day. He's a million-m.p.h. guy on every snap in practice and in games, not one of those guys who is used to standing around and taking looks at it in sweats."

Hence the nickname, "All Day."

So it shouldn't be a surprise Peterson has improved even over the short course of his NFL career. Coaching tape from Peterson's first game shows him following his blockers too closely, not allowing the play to develop. Coaching tape from Peterson's fourth game shows him giving the play more time and, subsequently, finding the creases more frequently.

"It's definitely something I've worked on," said Peterson, who always has running backs coach Eric Bieniemy by his side during practice when he's not running a play. "I've tried to slow it down but still have my explosion. Give the offensive line time to work, then when you see a crease, hit it."

Peterson also is working on lowering his pads on contact, and he's getting results. Because he's 6 feet 1 1/2 inches and runs tall, like Eric Dickerson used to, he provides a lot of target for defenders. He has taken some big hits as a result. Shaun Rogers of the Lions absolutely drilled Peterson in the back and Rogers' teammate Ernie Sims sent Peterson flying out of bounds. But Peterson has delivered the pain too.

The Vikings didn't expect Peterson would be on the field much on passing downs. At Oklahoma, he rarely was a passing target, so the assumption was Peterson couldn't catch the ball. But it has proven to be an assumption born of ignorance.

Peterson looks like a natural as a pass catcher with the second-most receiving yards on the Vikings and an average of 18.4 yards per catch. He also has a 51-yard kickoff return to his credit even though Peterson only was asked to return kicks once at Oklahoma.

What is taking more time for him is his learning pass protection. In the Vikings' 13-10 loss to the Chiefs, Peterson was pulled from the Vikings' last drive. Childress later explained it was because he was concerned about Peterson's ability to pick up blitzes.

"He knows what to do and he's strong as an ox," Richardson says. "He can block anybody. You just don't want to give him 15, 20 things to think about on third down. You have to be patient with a young running back. There is a lot to learn in a short period of time."

Besides pass protection, the only thing Peterson needs work on is celebrating. Although it has been a well-guarded secret until now, it seems Peterson had a little too much fun the night after accounting for 163 yards from scrimmage in his first NFL game.

"He came in here the next day, bowing to the porcelain gods all morning," one Vikings veteran said. "Welcome to the NFL."