Josh Adams Ready To Roll
Last week was a wild ride for both Fighting Irish fans and 6-foot-2, 225-pound Heisman candidate Josh Adams. While at the game, it seemed like the junior running back was in the medical tent for an eternity. Then he was on the sideline keeping warm, but he never returned to the game after the fourth quarter.
“So I was getting like headaches before the game the day before, and headaches cleared up going into halftime,” stated Adams. “I think at that moment we were already up by a fair margin. I guess they just thought it was safer just to play it safe rather than continuing to play football. I don't know, it was a rough week for me as far as papers and getting enough sleep and really taking care of my body. I think a lot of that had an impact on the game as well.”
“But it was a great learning moment for me moving forward, learning how to correctly take care of myself and getting enough sleep and continuing to do the things that got me here like going to treatment, taking care of my body, stuff like that. So that was nothing but just minor headaches.”
Irish fans can exhale after hearing this because Notre Dame needs its Heisman candidate on the field. However, the Irish have also shown that they can get the job done with any of their backs behind one of the best offensive lines in the country.
“Any one of those guys has the ability to go in there and do tremendous things for the offense, like you've seen in the game -- Tony getting in the end zone; Deon, of course, breaking tackles and scoring and stuff like that; Dexter, you know, breaking away and doing what he does, which is nothing new,” remarked Adams. “It's exciting to see all those guys get out there and do their thing because we have so much love for each other and we are constantly competing with each other just to see who can do the best and who can make the most plays. And that's what makes us such a great group that we are is we're constantly competing with each other and see who can do better and push each other and push our limits.”
Running Backs Coach Autry Denson has done an incredible job creating this atmosphere of love and competition at the same time in the running back room. Although Mike Elko deserves a lot of credit for his resurgent defense, Coach Denson also deserves a lot of credit for a Notre Dame Offense that has racked up almost 3,000 yards on the ground over only nine games. However, this week the focus is not on the coach, but on a top 10 opponent in Miami.
“Of course Miami is going to bring something that we haven't seen. It's going to be new. They're going to have a lot of energy,” commented Adams. “Playing away is never easy. But, again, we just have to focus on the things that we can control. We have to go out and practice and execute. We have to continue to get better. We have to learn from our film. And we just have to become a better offense. And the great thing about having guys on our team is that they're constantly trying to do that, pushing each other, holding each other to a standard and not letting anybody fall below that. We had a great practice yesterday regarding leadership and guys holding each other accountable and really forcing each other to get better and to not settle for less and to execute at a high level because we know we can do that type of stuff.”
Adams is confident that this week he will be fully rested and the stress from classes will be less. But, Adams really seemed to use this is a lesson about balance in his life which is important to learn, especially at a school as academically rigorous as Notre Dame. One has to learn how to relax, and that does not mean football. That means Spongebob.
“I mean, who doesn't like SpongeBob,” laughed Adams. “I mean, you're never too old to laugh at a kids show, you know what I mean. Just sit back and relax and watch SpongeBob and Patrick do some goofy stuff.”
Television shows aside; Josh Adams seems to have learned about the importance of balance in his life and the Notre Dame Offense is lucky to have so many talented pieces around him. Imagine if Baker Mayfield sat for over three quarters for Oklahoma, or Saquon Barkley sitting for Penn State, or JT Barrett sitting for Ohio State.
Regardless, Notre Dame has such an embarrassment of riches at running back and on offense that this offense put up 710 yards of offense without its Heisman trophy candidate. This week at Miami, the Josh Adams returns to the lineup, and this reporter has an inkling feeling that after this week, Josh Adams will not be left off of ESPN Heismanology.