Vernon Adams Keeps Dreams Alive with Most Clutch Performance of 2015

Imagine if the most meaningful moment of your life came down to a single math test.

If you pass, you will be greeted with potential fame and fortune. All the stress, strain and turmoil will be washed away in a euphoric moment of academic ecstasy. You will be free of the anchor that has fastened you to the bottom of the sea floor for the past six months.

But if you fail, you will be shown a different path that leads to nowhere. It is a dead end. No more mulligans. All the work and hope will be snatched away in a colossal moment of disappointment right out in the open for the world to see.

This high-stakes scenario sounds like the pilot for a failed reality television show. But for former Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.—and I can write “former” and actually mean it, finally—this bizarre set of circumstances became his reality.

The wait was far longer than expected, but it is over now. 

On Thursday, the young man who has already accounted for 121 total touchdowns and 10,438 yards through the air passed his final exam as an Eastern Washington student.

Through his Instagram, he confirmed the news that he is now, officially, an Oregon Duck. He is eligible to play immediately.

Behind door No. 1 was Oregon, an offense seemingly constructed for his tremendous range of abilities. Behind door No. 2 was football purgatory—a place without options. The possibility existed that Adams would be without a team for the foreseeable future. The suspense over his test results was as absurd as it was tense.

But none of that matters now.

What matters is that Adams can still be Marcus Mariota's potential replacement come Week 1 (Sept. 5). What matters is that he will be able to operate in an offense that takes advantage of his arm and legs. What matters is that his chance at stardom has more than a pulse.

“It’s an opportunity to play on a big stage in one of the best conferences in the nation,” Adams told Bleacher Report earlier this year. “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.”

Back in February, when his life was complicated—but not to this extent—I spoke to Adams shortly after he announced that he was headed to Oregon as graduate transfer.

With his eight-month-old son trailing him in the background, following his every step and offering up an orchestra of adorable sounds, I could sense the strain in Adams’ voice as he tried to talk over young Vernon Kash Adams III.

We talked of grandiose plans, but there was a hitch.

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

He spoke about the disadvantage of missing spring practice. He talked about the time and reps lost with his future teammates and how he wanted to be there. Perhaps he was looking into his crystal ball. Oregon quarterback Jeff Lockie delivered a brilliant spring, adding caffeine to a quarterback battle with excessive energy as it was.

Typically, these graduate transfer situations are somewhat cut-and-dry. A player graduates, transfers and plays immediately without penalty.

But in this instance, with a spotlight so grand on the line, there was some uneasiness regarding the arrangement from the start. There was no going back.

Still, even though the exhaustion was evident as he walked me through the months to come, Adams didn’t lack confidence.

“I want to earn the starting spot, earn everyone’s trust, win games, win a Pac-12 Championship, hopefully a Heisman [Trophy] and a national championship,” Adams said. “My goals are set high.”

The original plan for the 6'0"-ish QB—he's listed as 6'0" on EWU's site—was to arrive in Eugene on June 14, the day after he was supposed to graduate from Eastern Washington. Complications arose, giving him one last shot to complete his degree and join the Ducks shortly after they started camp.

On the eve of the exam, Wednesday, Adams posted the following message on his Instagram. My, what a difference 24 hours makes.

Although the journey hasn’t gone as planned, this is merely a detour at the moment. Now, however, is when things get deeply interesting on the football front.

While Adams has found his new team and home—avoiding the ultimate doomsday scenario—there are zero guarantees he will be the starter. In fact, right now, he’s likely the underdog to lead the offense in Week 1 against Eastern Washington.

Early on in the offseason, the assumption was widespread that the job was his to lose.

That was before Lockie delivered a mighty effort. That was before Adams’ plan to join the program mid-summer was temporarily derailed. That was before things changed.

Oregon’s second-week road matchup against Michigan State—one of the most critical games of the year, especially for a team holding playoff aspirations—is less than a month away. The next few weeks will happen fast. For Adams to win the starting job, he will have to ace the crash course.

In many ways, this latest development is somewhat appropriate.

Overlooked as an electric high school quarterback because of his size, Adams has had to claw his way to the next step. Nothing has ever been assumed by the remarkably gifted young man, and the last six months parallel a journey that stretches back well beyond six painful months.

The blueprint reads a bit differently these days, but a Pac-12 Championship is still within reach. A national championship is still a conversation we can have and actually mean it. A Heisman Trophy of the strangest, most unprecedented variety is still there for the taking.

Now that the math test has been mastered, a sentence that is as strange to write as it is to read, a star can be reborn. But just like always, he will have to earn it.

It will not come easy, although perhaps that's how it was always meant to be.

Adam Kramer is the College Football National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Unless noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.