Josh Adams (born October 29, 1996) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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and coach who is currently an offensive quality control coach at Vanderbilt. He played

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at Notre Dame, and he was signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

Early life

Adams attended

Central Bucks High School South Central Bucks High School South, also known as CB South, is a public high school serving students in tenth through twelfth grades, one of three high schools in the Central Bucks School District. The school is located in Warrington, Pennsylvania ...

in Warrington, Pennsylvania, where he played

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for the Titans. As a sophomore, he rushed for 2,085 yards and 28

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. He rushed for 738 yards and 10 touchdowns his junior year in 2013 before suffering a torn ACL. As a senior, he returned from his injury, rushing for 1,623 yards with 25 touchdowns. He was named to the All-USA Pennsylvania Football Team at running back and earned offensive player of the year honors, by ''

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''. Considered a three-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', he was rated as the 47th best

prospect of his class. Adams committed to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

to play

over offers from

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

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, and

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, among others.

College career

Adams began his true freshman season in 2015 behind starter Tarean Folston and backup C. J. Prosise. After Folston tore his ACL, he was given a larger role in the offense. In his first college game against

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, he rushed for 49 yards and scored two touchdowns. Adams started his first game against Wake Forest, replacing Prosise who was injured the previous game. He rushed for 141 yards on 17 carries (8.3 avg), and scored a Notre Dame record 98-yard touchdown run. Prosise would return the next game against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

; however, he was injured during the game and would not play again that season, leaving Adams as the starter for remainder of the year. Closing out the regular season at

, Adams rushed for a 168 yards on 18 carries (9.3 avg) and one touchdown. He set a new Notre Dame record for rushing yards in a game for a freshman. In the Fiesta Bowl against

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, Adams ended his season rushing for 78 yards on 14 carries (5.6 avg) and adding one touchdown. He finished his season rushing for 835 yards on 117 carries (7.1 avg), while rushing for six touchdowns. His 835 yards on the season in 2015, set a new Notre Dame freshman record for rushing yards in a season, eclipsing the 786 garnered by

Darius Walker Darius A'Dunte Walker (born October 21, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was signed by the Ho ...

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. Adams saw an expanded role in the 2016 season for the Fighting Irish. In the second game of the season against

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, he had 10 carries for 106 yards in the 39–10 victory. On October 1, against

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, he had 102 rushing yards. On November 19, against

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, he had 100 rushing yards to go along with a 22-yard reception in the 34–31 loss. In the next game, against

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, he had 180 rushing yards in the regular season finale for the Fighting Irish. Overall, Adams had 933 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on the season. Adams started his final season with the Fighting Irish strong with 161 rushing yards and two touchdowns against

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. Two weeks later, against

, he had 229 rushing yards in the victory. On September 30, against the

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, he had 159 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the victory. On October 21, against

, he had 191 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the 49–14 victory. The next week, against NC State, he had his second game of the year going over 200 rushing yards with 202. Through eight games of the 2017 season, Adams ranked fifth among all

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...

players with 1,169 rushing yards on 132 carries. Overall, he finished his final collegiate season with 1,430 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. On January 5, 2018, Adams announced that he would forgo his senior year to pursue a career in the NFL. Adams returned to classes at Notre Dame, and earned his Bachelor's degree in May 2020 with a major in Psychology from the College of Arts and Letters.

College statistics

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Following the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

, Adams signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on May 11, 2018. He was waived on September 1, 2018, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 18, 2018. In Week 3, against the

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, Adams had six carries for 30 rushing yards in his NFL debut. In Week 12, Adams rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries as the Eagles defeated the

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25–22. In the next game, against the

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, he had a season-high 85 rushing yards in the 28–13 victory. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 511 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. He made his playoff debut in the Wild Card Round against the

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with two rushing yards on one carry in the 16–15 victory. Adams was waived by the Eagles during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

New York Jets

On September 1, 2019, Adams was signed to the

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practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 5. On September 5, 2020, Adams was waived by the Jets and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on September 12 for the team's Week 1 game against the

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and reverted to the practice squad on September 14. He was again elevated to the active roster on September 19 for the team's Week 2 game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

and reverted to the practice squad on September 21. He was signed to the active roster on November 24. Adams signed a contract extension with the Jets on March 17, 2021. He was waived on August 31, 2021, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 6, 2021. He was waived on October 2.

New Orleans Saints

On November 10, 2021, Adams was signed to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

practice squad. He was released on January 4, 2022. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Saints on January 24, 2022. He was waived on May 11, 2022.

Michigan Panthers

On December 28, 2022, Adams signed with the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in Metro Detroit. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home gam ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). However, on March 15, 2023, Adams retired from professional football to take a coaching position at Vanderbilt.

Coaching career

On March 15, 2023, Adams was hired as an offensive quality control coach at Vanderbilt.

Philanthropy

On July 21, 2021, Adams broke ground at his boyhood playground in a project to upgrade the facility for current residents of his former Warrington neighborhood, Willow Knoll.

References

External links

*
Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Josh 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Bucks County, Pennsylvania American football running backs Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Philadelphia Eagles players New York Jets players New Orleans Saints players Michigan Panthers (2022) players