Joe Adams (born November 22, 1989) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

wide receiver. He played college football for the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

in the fourth round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

Early years

Adams was born in

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. Encouraged by his mother Charlotte Allmon, he finished his secondary education at

Central Arkansas Christian High School Central Arkansas Christian Schools (CAC) is a group of three private schools based in North Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. CAC was established in 1971 at Sylvan Hills Church of Christ in Sherwood, Arkansas. Because of its foundation date, t ...

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

College career

Adams attended the

, where he played for the

Arkansas Razorbacks football The Arkansas Razorbacks football program represents the University of Arkansas in the sport of American football. The Razorbacks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Weste ...

team from 2008 to 2011. Initially, the four star receiver had verbally committed to play for the

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Ath ...

, but switched to Arkansas after

Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head coa ...

was hired in December 2007. Adams was a three-year starter at wide receiver, and a four-year starter as Arkansas' main punt returner. As a senior in 2011, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-SEC player, as well as a consensus first-team All-American, after being named to the first-teams of

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, the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media ou ...

(FWAA), ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football leagu ...

'',

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Spor ...

, and ''

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''. Adams was also the recipient of the inaugural Johnny "The Jet" Rodgers Return Specialist Award ( Jet Award) in 2011, recognizing the best return specialist in all of college football. Adams returned 19 punts for 321 yards (16.9 yards per return) and 4 touchdowns (tops in the nation) in the 2011 season, helping the Razorbacks to an 11-2 record, and a victory over

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

in the

2012 Cotton Bowl The 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, the 76th edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on January 6, 2012 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas as part of the 2011–12 NCAA Bowl season. The game, which wa ...

. Adams also returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown in the bowl game, the first punt returned for a score since former Arkansas player

Lance Alworth Lance Dwight Alworth (born August 3, 1940), nicknamed “Bambi”, is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) a ...

returned one in the

1961 Cotton Bowl The 1961 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 25th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1960–61 bowl game season, it matched two conference champions, the seventh- ...

. But Adams' most electrifying punt return came against the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegi ...

on November 12, 2011 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Joe caught the punt on the Razorback forty yard line, reversed his field numerous times, slipped seven tackle attempts, and wove his way through the Vols defenders for a sixty-yard return and six points. Arkansas won the game, 49-7. It is considered the most electrifying punt return in College football history.

Professional career

The

selected Adams in the fourth round, 104th overall pick, of the

. He returned kicks in the first three games of the 2012 season before being benched after losing two fumbles in a game against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. On August 27, he was waived. Adams signed with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

in 2014, but was released before the season. The Houston Texans signed Adams on August 1, 2014. The Texans released Adams on August 25, 2014. Adams was signed to the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

' practice roster on October 20, 2014. He was released by the Lions on October 31, 2014. On April 7, 2016, Adams signed with the Texas Revolution of Allen, Texas, a founding member of

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team fro ...

, an

indoor American football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ar ...

league. Adams re-signed with the Revolution on January 5, 2017.

References

External links

*
Arkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Joe 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas All-American college football players American football return specialists American football wide receivers American members of the Churches of Christ Arkansas Razorbacks football players Carolina Panthers players Edmonton Elks players Houston Texans players Texas Revolution players