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James Adams Purdue football

Former Purdue Football Assistant James Adams Officially Joins Wake Forest Coaching Staff

James Adams has officially joined the Wake Forest coaching staff to work alongside former Purdue co-defensive coordinator Brad Lambert. The Boilers' cornerbacks coach spent one season with the program.
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — After spending just one season as the cornerbacks coach with the Purdue football program, James Adams is headed to Wake Forest as a safeties coach. He joins a coaching staff with former Boilermakers co-defensive coordinator Brad Lambert. 

Demon Deacons head coach Dave Clawson announced the addition of Adams on Monday. 

"James Adams has been a successful coach at every stop in his career, and he is a Wake Forest graduate and former student athlete," Clawson said in a release. "He has a passion for football, his players and Wake Forest University. His background combined with his history of working with Brad Lambert at multiple schools makes him the ideal coach to mentor our safeties and recruit his hometown of Durham and the North Carolina triangle."

Adams was a two-time letterwinner as a linebacker at Wake Forest. He returns to the program after helping Purdue win nine games for the first time since 2003. The team's defense ranked 33rd in passing yards allowed in the country while tallying 13 interceptions, which ranked 33rd in Football Bowl Subdivision and fourth in the Big Ten Conference.

Before his brief stint with the Boilermakers, Adams served as the cornerbacks coach at Navy for one season. He's also spent a year at Western Michigan in the same role. 

Adams has familiarity with Lambert stemming back to their time together at Charlotte. They were both coaches there between 2011-18, where Adams served as Lambert's secondary coach and assisted with special teams.

His collegiate coaching career started at his alma mater, Wake Forest, and Wofford before joining Charlotte. 

"Wake Forest is home and I am excited to be returning to Winston-Salem and work with Coach Clawson and the entire staff and our student-athletes," Adams said in a release. "It's an exciting time to be a Demon Deacon and I can't wait to get back to Winston-Salem and North Carolina with my family and get to work!"

  • PURDUE FOOTBALL REVISED 2022 SCHEDULE: The Big Ten released the approved 2022 football schedules for all 14 conference programs. Purdue will have six home matchups coming off a 9-4 season in 2021 that featured a 48-45 victory over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl. CLICK HERE 
  • BRAD LAMBERT JOINS WAKE FOREST COACHING STAFF: During his coaching career, Brad Lambert spent 10 seasons at Wake Forest. He has stints as the defensive coordinator at Marshall and the head coach of Charlotte prior to joining the Purdue coaching staff for the 2021 season. CLICK HERE 

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