Remembering Former Wildcats RB Ahead of 2025 Campaign
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The countdown continues as we are getting closer to the start of the season. Arizona is just two days away from the season opener against Hawaii.
Throughout this week, we will continue to take a look back at some of the top players in Arizona football history by jersey number as we inch closer towards the start of the season for the Wildcats.
We continue with former Arizona running back David Adams, who played with the Wildcats from 1984-86.
Adams is originally from Tucson, attending Sunnyside High School. He led the state in yards per carry (12.6), yards per punt return (8.7) and yards per kickoff return (38) as a junior. He later earned All-state, All-city and Player of the Year honors as a senior by the Tucson Citizen.
9/6/86 - Arizona halfback David Adams had 102yds and 1TD by halftime, finishing with 20-126-2, as the Wildcats mauled the Houston Cougars 37-3 to open the regular season. Adams broke free for a 43-yard TD, one that required him to muscle through a PF, facemask penalty. #BearDown pic.twitter.com/NMldMlcB2w
— Arizona Sports History (@AZSportsHistory) September 6, 2024
Adams ran for 750 yards and six touchdowns on 188 carries as a freshman at Arizona. He also added six receptions for 43 yards through the air. The next year, he remained in a limited role, rushing for 511 yards and two touchdowns on 138 carries across 10 games in a season where he also battled injuries. He added nine receptions for 56 yards receiving.
It was his third year at Arizona when Adams stepped into a bigger role. He ran for 1,175 yards and seven touchdowns on 238 carries over 11 games in a career season. He also saw an expanded role as a receiver, hauling in 20 passes for 162 yards and another score through the air.
In the same breakout season, Adams became the first running back in program history to lead the Pac-10 in rushing. He currently ranks tenth in program history in career rushing yards (2,571).
Adams went on to be selected in the 12th round by the Indianapolis Colts of the 1987 NFL Draft. He had dropped in the draft because of his size. He was later released by the Colts that September.
Later that season, the NFL went on a strike in the third week, which led to the season being played with replacement players. Adams signed with the Dallas Cowboys to be part of their replacement team.
He appeared in three games that year as the backup to Alvin Blount and Tony Dorsett. His best performance came against the New York Jets in a game where he ran for 43 yards on five carries, including a 27-yard touchdown run. He also combined to run back six kickoffs for 113 return yards that season and caught one pass for eight yards. Adams was later released at the the of the strike in October.
Adams had stints with the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Raiders before he was released by both teams.
He finished his professional career in the Canadian Football League, signing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in April of 1989. He appeared in one game that year and two games the next season, totaling 22 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
What do you remember from the career of Lewis at Arizona? Let us know and be sure to follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.
Ari Koslow is a sports writer covering the University of Arizona athletics at On SI. Koslow has been covering Arizona sports for several years. Born and raised in Seattle, he is a diehard Seahawks fan and a longtime sufferer of the Mariners. He is a huge fantasy football fanatic. Koslow is a graduate of Arizona’s School of Journalism.