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 wi ...

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.

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 in

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 West ...

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 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 ...

, 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 co ...

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

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

, the Football Writers Association of America (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 (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...

'',

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 Sports ...

, and '' Sporting News''. Adams was also the recipient of the inaugural Johnny "The Jet" Rodgers Return Specialist Award (

Jet Award The Jet Award, named in honor of 1972 Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny "The Jet" Rodgers, is awarded to the top return specialist in college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams ...

) 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. 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) an ...

returned one in the

1961 Cotton Bowl The 1961 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 25th Cotton Bowl Classic, edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl (stadium), Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1960 NCAA University Division footba ...

. 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 2012 NFL Draft. 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. On August 27, he was waived. Adams signed with the Edmonton Eskimos 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 ci ...

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 seas ...

' 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 fr ...

, 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 ...

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