UW Roster Review, No. 2-99: The Huskies Have Sam Adams on Reserve

Eight different running backs carried the football during the University of Washington spring game. Sam Adams II was not one of them.

Jay'Veon Sunday, the theatrical tailback from Texas, made sure everyone saw him during a month of spring practices. Adams, a fellow redshirt freshman who came in with Sunday, was barely noticeable.

Adams, in fact, logged almost no scrimmage runs during the 15 workouts. For reasons unclear, he didn't attend every session either. If he were the beer of the same name, he'd still be sitting in the refrigerator, unopened.

Yet in spite of all of that inactivity, the highly regarded 6-foot-1, 200-pound back from Eastside Catholic High School in the Seattle suburbs — who comes from two generations of NFL players bearing the same name — continues to draw a positive assessment from UW running-backs coach Keith Bhonapha.

"Sam Adams is good," Bhonapha said. "He's smart. He knows what he's doing. He's a really gifted athlete. Obviously, his dad [played as] a defensive tackle, but he's really a good athlete. He has really soft hands. He's a really sharp kid. He understands what we're doing in protection and in the pass game."

Still, unless there was something else in play that no one was sharing, it appeared that Adams was running a step or two behind the other young scholarship backs, Sunday and another Texan in Caleb Berry.

In the spring game, Sunday led all Husky rushers with 12 carries while Berry drew five chances to run. Even walk-ons Capassio Cherry and Christian Galvan rushed three times each.

Adams was in uniform but never touched the ball.

Bhonapha went on to use the analogy that all of his young Husky running backs have felt as if they were drowning at times and it was his responsibility to get them back to shore.

"With Sam, like all these young guys, and I'm not pointing him out, but it's just being consistent day in and day out," the coach said. "That's what you preach to the young guys because we're throwing a lot at them."

Going down the roster in numerical order, this is another of our post-spring assessments of all of the Husky talent at hand, gleaned from a month of observations, as a way to keep everyone engaged during the offseason.

Adams wears No. 28, a digit made famous by running back Jacque Robinson, who had the most glorious career launch of any Husky freshman in program annals by being named the Most Valuable Player of the 1982 Rose Bowl. Adams hasn't run the ball yet on game day, barely in practice.

One of the most heavily recruited players nationwide, Adams was a headliner for the UW's 2020 class. He held scholarship offers from Ohio State, USC, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Florida State, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, Wisconsin and a good chunk of the SEC in Alabama, Auburn, Florida LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, South Carolina and Texas A&M, his father's alma mater.

He could have signed as either a running back or defensive back, but Husky coach Jimmy Lake indicated he preferred to use Adams on the offensive end because he was a big runner.

Defense, however, runs in the family.

Sam Adams I, the player's father, was the NFL's No. 8 overall pick out of A&M in the 1994 draft. He played 14 seasons as a 6-foot-3, 350-pound defensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

Yet there has been plenty of prior Adams offense, too.

Sam Adams Sr., his grandfather who died in 2015 at 67 from a heart attack, was a native Texan who spent 10 NFL seasons (1972-81) as an offensive guard and tackle for the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints after playing collegiately at Prairie View A&M.

Before the youngest Adams can harbor any pro football ambitions, he'll need to launch his Husky career first, this coming after his slow-motion start. His coach remains ever upbeat about him.

"I'm excited to kind of get him going, where he gets ready to go," Bhonapha said. "I think Sam Adams is one of those guys we should be excited about."

Again, the question is when?

Adams' 2021 Outlook: Projected reserve running back

UW Service Time: None

Stats: None

Individual Honors: None yet

Pro prospects: 2025 NFL third-day draft pick.

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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