Overlooked, Undersized Vernon Adams Is College Football's Superstar in Waiting
“I want to earn the starting spot, earn everyone’s trust, win games, win a Pac-12 championship, hopefully a Heisman and a national championship,” Vernon Adams Jr. says. “My goals are set high.”
It wasn’t always like this for the man set to replace Marcus Mariota and his Heisman Trophy at Oregon.
Adams had a grand total of zero scholarship offers coming out of high school, but that was a long time ago. Before he (not Braxton Miller) became the biggest “free agent” in college football history.
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But today, pinballing around his Washington apartment, Adams Jr. isn’t thinking about the calendar or the magnificent stage that awaits him in Eugene. For now, the 6-foot-ish quarterback who has accounted for more than 100 Eastern Washington touchdowns over the past three years is simply searching for a quiet room to give an interview while taking care of his eight-month-old son, Vernon Kash Adams III.
“I’m sorry, man,” Adams says, his words barely audible. “Can you repeat the question?”
The coos, cries and shrieks rain down after each question and before each answer. On the field, Adams has become a magician when it comes to sidestepping chaos. But right now, there is no escaping the clamor. Where dad goes, Kash follows.
This has become Adams’ life as he readies for an opportunity of a lifetime, the one he thought might never come. He is preparing for June 14, the day he will enroll at Oregon and start a new chapter, but at the moment, it’s hard to see beyond baby bottles, final projects and the uncertainty of the months ahead.
Adams is currently in college football purgatory, a man without a team. Eastern Washington has banned him from working out with the Eagles, and he won't be a Duck until he can finish his graduation requirements in Cheney. Then, life will shift into the fast lane.
From there, he will have a little less than six months to learn a new offense, earn the respect of his new teammates, win the starting job, lead the Ducks to a Pac-12 title, get an invite to the Heisman Trophy ceremony and win a national championship if his goals follow his desire blueprint.
These are burdens, but Adams welcomes a change of scenery. Football will be a far more familiar, comforting chaos. His entire career has been an uphill climb; this next challenge is the kind he was born for.
The Unwanted “Playmaker”
Don’t bother trying to count his tattoos; Adams lost track long ago. His arms are both sleeved, his chest covered, and he has ink on his stomach and back.
It’s been a while since he’s gotten work done because his pain threshold isn’t quite where it used to be, he says, half-joking and half-serious. There isn’t much room left anyway. His body has become a canvas.
On his right forearm, Adams has a piece of art that is impossible to miss. It’s a building he grew up with, a symbol of both where he’s going and where he comes from. He’s never played a game inside the Rose Bowl, but he wears it proudly every day.
“I’m from Pasadena,” Adams said. “The Rose Bowl is like the biggest thing out there.”
The opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl, at least up until now, was never a possibility. Despite delivering enormous junior and senior seasons at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, California—a recruiting hotbed—the interest and offers from major programs never came. Coaches knew who he was but never believed in him enough to put it in writing.
Teams were scared of his size, or, more specifically, lack thereof. Although Adams is listed at 6’0” on his Eastern Washington bio, he’ll be the first to tell you that this figure is inflated.
Despite being undersized for the position, he’s dominated every level of competition. Still, even with his head coach—a guy who produced NFL players Matt Moore and Kyle Boller—campaigning for him, teams didn’t budge.
“It’s probably the most frustrating thing I’ve ever dealt with as a coach,” Bishop Alemany High School head coach Dean Herrington said. “SMU was the only Division I team that gave him a look, and they decided not [to] go [with] him. Everyone else just kind of dismissed him because of his height.”
Like the coaches he tried to convince, even Herrington had reservations about how Adams’ game would fit in his own offense despite recognizing his tremendous ability.
Adams responded by scoring 68 touchdowns in his two years at the varsity level, according to MaxPreps. In the process, he showcased a college-level arm and an amazing ability to extend plays and move the pocket, both characteristics Oregon fans will fondly recognize.
“I actually told one of my coaches that I wasn’t sure he could play for me because he ran around too much,” Herrington said. “I thought he needed to be more structured. We laugh about that to this day.”
While SMU looked at the player Herrington characterized as a “playmaker,” FCS teams Portland State and Eastern Washington were the only programs to offer him a scholarship.
Adams decided on Eastern Washington and redshirted in 2011. That season, as it turns out, would be significant moving forward. It would make it possible for him to graduate early and apply for graduate transfer.
As soon as he hit the red turf in Cheney, Washington, Adams developed into a star. In three seasons, he totaled 121 touchdowns, threw for more than 10,000 yards and put on an absolute show against Oregon State and Washington. In those Pac-12 showdowns, he accounted for 13 touchdowns and only one interception.
Even playing at the FCS level, Adams’ performances against quality opponents generated a buzz that resonated beyond his campus. As it turns out, this undersized quarterback could play a bit, just like his high school coach knew all along.
“I tried to tell these guys that they were missing out on a great one,” Herrington lamented. “I think now, after Russell Wilson’s success, he would have had a lot more offers. A lot of guys missed out.”
It wasn’t until the last few months, however, that Adams got to experience the high-profile recruitment he had been waiting for.
“Hell Yeah, We’d Want Him.”
When Ohio State and Oregon kicked off the national championship game, Adams fully expected to be back at Eastern in 2015 and was completely comfortable with returning. To leave this place, his home, he would need an offer he couldn’t refuse.
It wasn’t until after the national championship that he realized such an offer was a possibility. His former high school coach, the man who pushed for his recruitment years prior, came to him with a useful bit of information. Herrington asked Adams if he was planning to graduate in June, which he was. It was at that moment Adams realized he could transfer to an FBS school for his senior season.
Eastern Washington gave Adams permission to reach out to other schools, and the recruiting began almost instantly. In many ways, it kicked off with a simple phone call. Herrington knew a contact at Oregon, so he decided to reach out to gauge interest and discuss the situation.
“The next thing I know, I’m getting calls from people saying, ‘Hell yeah, we’d want him,’” Herrington said. “It snowballed from there.”
Oregon, UCLA, Texas, Boise State and even Maryland all expressed interest in Adams, according to the player and his former coach. He assessed options, knowing he had little time to make a final decision. Unlike most recruiting cycles that take place over years, this one transpired in a matter of few weeks.
As more opportunities from major programs presented themselves, it still didn’t feel real.
“I didn’t think I was that good,” Adams said. “It was pretty cool.”
The pitches that never came during Adams’ senior year of high school finally arrived. After all, available quarterbacks with this kind of ability almost never appear out of thin air.
As a result of the situation, Adams listened to different voices offering up similar messages.
“The coaches were all saying that they wanted me to come in and earn the starting spot,” Adams said. “They told me that they thought I could lead them to the big game. They just told me a bunch of stuff I wanted to hear, basically.”
Although other campus trips were discussed, Oregon was the only school Adams visited. On his visit, he couldn’t take his eyes off the Ducks’ state-of-the-art football facilities while learning how his game would mesh with the nation’s most distinguished offense. The red-carpet treatment finally came, and the Ducks made it clear they wanted him.
“Oregon really went hard,” Herrington said.
In the end, it came down to Oregon and Eastern Washington. While other coaches came in with fascinating and enticing offers, those were the only programs that garnered serious consideration at the very end. Up until the final day before he revealed his decision, Adams wasn’t sure where he would play next year.
On Feb. 9, Adams announced his decision to head to Eugene:
"Oregon it is! First off, I want to thank God for this amazing opportunity. I want to thank all of… http://t.co/yMkAHNt1f2
— Vernon Adams Jr. (@vadams_qb) February 9, 2015"
“It’s an opportunity to play on a big stage in one of the best conferences in the nation,” Adams said. “Being a shorter quarterback, I can do what I did here over there. Winning games and being successful at Oregon can also help me accomplish my dream of either being a college coach or playing in the NFL.”
With the change of scenery, Adams may finally play in the Rose Bowl. With the College Football Playoff moving its semifinal games to the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl, however, this should be considered a backup plan for now.
“Hopefully he still doesn’t go there,” his former coach said, half-joking and half-serious.
“Three More Months”
In the hours after Adams revealed he was transferring to Oregon, his phone exploded.
Like his tattoos, he lost count of all the text messages and phone calls received in the days that followed. Former NFL wideout and current ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson was one of many to reach out to offer congratulations. Countless other current and former players followed, including Oregon wideout Bralon Addison.
Adams has since had regular conversations with Addison and other Oregon wideouts. Although he can’t work on his timing with his future teammates this spring while finishing his degree, the long-distance jelling is well underway.
These conversations will undoubtedly aid Adams once he finally arrives—on June 14—although missing spring practice is a tremendous disadvantage, one that is unavoidable given the circumstances.
“I’m stressed about it. Not having spring ball and not being over there getting time with the guys is hard for me,” Adams said. “I’m just taking it day by day, living life and doing the right things. When it comes, it comes.”
Without a strength coach to lean on, Adams is forcing himself to stay in football shape with his own personally crafted two-a-days. Each day he works out at 6 a.m, goes to class and either throws or runs in the afternoon.
“That’s the hardest part,” Adams said on working out. “It’s having the mindset and getting up to do it by yourself. But I’m putting in the time.”
In-between workouts, he is deep in textbooks. His latest batch of classes involves more paper writing than ever before, which means more time in front of the computer. With so much to gain (and lose), Adams is ensuring that he is doing everything necessary to earn his degree. Learning the Oregon offense will be easy after the grind of graduating early.
“It’s hard on him right now,” Herrington said. “He changed majors, and he’s had to take a couple different classes this quarter. It’s overwhelmed him a bit.”
And then there’s being a dad, the most significant and overwhelming job of them all. As Kash’s screams drowned out the answer to yet another question, the gravity of it all is palpable. He welcomes it all, of course, but his plate is full.
Even after Adams graduates on June 13, the stresses and anxieties won’t suddenly vanish. Getting to Oregon is only a portion of the equation; there’s still a matter of learning a new offense and playbook, meshing with teammates beyond phone calls and beating out an array of quarterbacks, many of whom had the benefit of spring practice.
“Three more months,” Herrington says about his former player, as if he’s uttered these reassurances before. “Get that done, and then it’s off to Oregon. The sky is the limit there.”
On June 14, it all changes. But right now there is no time to gaze longingly at the calendar or at the sky. Before June 14, he must get to June 13—the day he graduates. Before June 13, he must get to tomorrow. It’s all part of the plan.
The weight of it all is evident, although the confidence that helped shape one of the sport’s most electric talents hasn’t waned. Once a player with no Division I offers and a Rose Bowl tattoo, Adams—between shrieks, formula, papers and solo two-a-days—is now one step closer to superstardom.
Adam Kramer is the College Football National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Unless noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.
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