Josh Adams
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Josh Adams (Born on September 22, 1987) plays running back for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the NCAA college football tournament. Adams had a breakout year as a redshirt freshman, playing a major role in Wake Forest's 8-4 regular season finish. He was the Demon Deacons' leading rusher with 953 yards rushed in 12 outings to go with 11 touchdowns while placing second in receiving with 34 receptions for 123 yards with 1 TD catch. The Cary, N.C. native also set school freshman records in rushing yards and touchdowns enroute to being named as the league's Rookie of the Week thrice and eventually, the ACC Rookie of the Year. Scouts point to Adams' speed, athletic & slashing ability as his greatest strengths as a back.
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[edit] Personal Life
Josh is the son of Arlene Adams. He majored in Communication at the Wake Forest University.
[edit] High School
The athletic Adams played for Cary High where he was known to squat 400 pounds, bench 280, and jump a 33" vertical leap. Aside from football, Adams also got into track where he ran a 4.5 40-yard dash and a 11.0 100-meter dash and was a state qualifier in track with a 21-foot, 9-inch long jump. In the field, Adams played under coach Ben Kolstad where he tore the opposition on the ground as the state's leading rusher during his sophomore season before going down with a knee injury. He rebounded the following year and amassed more than 2,500 yards each both as a junior and as a senior. He even led all North Carolina running backs with 2,884 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns during his final year, earning for himself a first team All-North Carolina selection from the Associated Press and a Tri-Seven Conference offensive player of the year award. In four high school years, Adams registered a total of 8,631 all-purpose yards and 80 touchdowns, going out as the school's all-time leading rusher. He earned the nod as the 10th-best running back prospect in the nation from the Rivals.com and as the 5th-best North Carolina prospect and the 150th-best player in the nation, regardless of position from ESPN.com. Adams was also tapped to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.
[edit] College
Adams chose to play for Wake Forest over other schools that recruited him, which included Georgia, LSU, Maryland, N.C. State, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Tennessee.
[edit] 2006
Redshirted. Coach Jim Grobe would've wanted to put Adams on the field as a true freshman due to the team's depth problems at tailback that year. However, a sore back kept Adams out of action forcing him to redshirt his first year at WFU.
[edit] 2007
Adams sustained a shoulder injury prior to the season which delayed his college career debut. He shared backfield duties with fifth-year senior Micah Andrews before working full-time as a starter in the final eight regular season games. He played his very first game against Nebraska, rushing 8 times for 31 yards and catching 2 passes for 11 yards. He ran for his first collegiate score the following week in a win against Army where he had 9 carries for 64 yards. Adams set his career high in rush yards against Florida State @ 140 yards, where he also set a career long of 83 for a score. He had a career high 27 carries against Navy, and posted his career high of 7 receptions against Clemson. Adams had two games with 2 TD runs (North Carolina & Vanderbilt), scored atleast a touchdown in 9 of 12 games, and caught his only touchdown reception against Florida State. Adams made his bowl game debut against Connecticut in the Meineke Car Care Bowl where he scored the Demon Deacons' first touchdown of the game on a 38-yard run before going on to finish the game with 19 carries for 66 yards.
Adams' was recognized by the Atlantic Coast Conference as the league's Rookie of the Year, and the Offensive Rookie of the Year, while placing him on the ACC's Second Team All-League as a running back. He also received the ACC's Rookie of the Week honors thrice, the same number of times he reached the 100-yard rushing mark. He also set the school record for rushing yards by a redshirt freshman at 953.
[edit] 2008
During the spring scrimmage, Adams scored the first two touchdowns of the game, each rushing from one yard out. He was also named to the preseason All-ACC first team by the media and Lindy's. In his season debut at Baylor, Adams rushed 14 times for 37 yards and a 4-yard TD in the 41-13 victory. Against Mississippi, he had 12 carries for 43 yards and a season high 4 receptions for 13 yards in the 30-28 win. At No. 24 Florida State, he had 18 carries for 66 yards and a 15-yard catch as Wake tallied a 12-3 victory. Against Navy, Adams scored the Deacs' first TD of the game on a 1-yard run in the third quarter but was held to 5 rushing yards on 11 carries in the 17-24 setback. Against Clemson, he improved his numbers to 12 carries for 56 yards and an 8-yard catch as Wake won, 12-7. In the shut-out loss at Maryland, he rushed 13 times for 39 yards and a season high 19-yard catch. At Miami, Adams had his first and last 100-yard rushing game of the season after rushing for a season high 111 yards on 21 carries on a losing effort. On the downside, he sustained a sprained left ankle against the Canes but practiced all week and was probable for the Duke game. He was however held out for the next two outings vs. Duke and Virginia. He returned at N.C. State but came off the bench and rushed only twice for 10 yards with an 8-yard catch in the 17-21 defeat. Against Boston College, he only had three carries for a season low 1 yard and went without a catch for the first time in the season in the 21-24 setback. In the regular season ending win over Vanderbilt, he rushed nine times for 21 yards and caught 2 passes for 34 yards.
In the inaugural EagleBank Bowl, Adams' second straight bowl game appearance, he came off the bench and rushed for two touchdowns (4-yard in the 2nd and 5-yard in the third) in the 29-19 win. It was the first time a Deacon had rushed for two touchdowns since Adams accomplished the feat at Vanderbilt in 2007, a span of 13 games. He finished his sophomore season with 122 carries for 402 yards and 4 TDs with 16 catches for 120 yards.
[edit] Career Stats
| Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
| Year | Att | Yds | Ave | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 2007 | 141 | 587 | 4.2 | 38 | 3 | 34 | 123 | 3.6 | 15 | 1 |
| 2008 | 110 | 380 | 3.5 | 23 | 4 | 14 | 86 | 6.1 | 19 | 0 |
[edit] Highlights
| Josh Adams' current career-long 83 yard touchdown run against Florida State. |
[edit] Achievements
[edit] 2008
- All-ACC Preseason Team (Media)
- Lindy's 14th RB in the nation
- Lindy's Preseason All-ACC first team
- Phil Steele Preseason All-ACC Third Team
[edit] 2007
- ACC Rookie of the Week (vs. Maryland, vs. FSU, vs. Navy)
- ACC Rookie of the Year
- ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year
- All-ACC Second Team Offense
- AP All-ACC Second-Team
- CollegeFootballNews' No.4 Running Back in the ACC
- The Sporting News ACC All-Freshman team
- The Sporting News ACC Offensive Freshman of the Year
- The Sporting News Freshman All-America second team
[edit] References
- Adams proof of Wake's progress
- Josh Adams Stats @ ESPN
- Josh Adams Wake Forest Profile
- Wake Forest's Josh Adams Claims ACC Rookie of the Year Honors
