Steelers 2014 NFL Draft Player Profiles – Fresno State WR Davante Adams

Good friend Dave-Te’ Thomas of Scouting Services has finished his player profiles of several of the top 2014 NFL Draft prospects and over the course of the next few weeks I will be posting the ones that the Pittsburgh Steelers will more than likely have interest in. While he hasn’t been brought in for a pre draft visit, Fresno State wide receiver Davante Adams is a player that the Steelers could have interest in. Here is his profile. Thomas has done these profiles for the NFL for several years and I know that many of you enjoy reading them.

DAVANTE ADAMS
Wide Receiver
Fresno State University Bulldogs
#15
6:00.7-212
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto High School

OVERVIEW

One can only imagine what numbers Adams would have registered if he had only stayed the course and returned to college for the next two seasons. In just twenty-six games wearing a Bulldogs’ uniform, he emphatically stated his case for being the best receiver the school has produced since the heydays of Henry Ellard (1979-82).

Adams holds eleven school records and five Mountain West Conference marks during his time at Fresno State. His thirty-eight touchdown catches shattered the previous school mark of twenty-five by several players and he has produced at least one touchdown catch in eight consecutive games, doing that feat as both a freshman and sophomore. His scoring grabs also established a conference all-time mark, doing likewise by setting the school and league season-records for scoring receptions.

In thirteen of his twenty-six appearances, he has gained at least 100 yards receiving, the second-best total in the MWC. He also set the league season and career marks with three 200-yard performances last season. His total of twenty-four touchdowns in 2013 also placed him fourth on the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision’s annual record chart. In eight of the contests, he recorded at least ten receptions and only four times during his career did Adams fail to record a touchdown reception.

The Fresno State staff knew the kind of talent they were signing when they made Adams the only wide receiver in their 2011 recruiting class. He was a talented multi-sport athlete at Palo Alto High School, lettering in both football and basketball. As a junior, he recorded 29 receptions for 484 yards and seven touchdowns, along with bringing the crowd to its feet when he recovered a short kick to serpentine through the ground for a 67-yard runback.

Adams played on both sides of the ball as a senior, helping lead his team to the CIF state championship. As a receiver, he exploded for 1,094 yards and eleven touchdowns on 63 receptions, perhaps giving Fresno State fans a glimpse of what his future would be when he arrived on campus the following year. As a defensive back, he recorded 44 tackles, two for losses, as he caused a pair of fumbles, picked off a pass and deflected three others.

Regarded as a two-star prospect in both sports, Adams averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as a junior on the basketball team. During his final season on the hardwood court, he averaged 9.4 points, 5.4 assists, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and o.3 blocks per game.

Adams turned down similar scholarship offers from California, Eastern Washington, Hawaii and San Jose State when he signed his national letter of intent to attend Fresno State on January 28, 2011. That season would be a learning experience for the youngster, as he was first assigned to the scout team, learning Pat Hill’s pro-style offense. A coaching change led to the team scrapping that system for the spread formation, meaning that Adams had to undergo a crash course learning that complex scheme.

Let’s just say that the student soon became the teacher. Even before he appeared in his first game for the Bulldogs, the other receivers were following Adams as if he was the modern day version of the Pied Piper. He was an instant sensation, becoming just the third player in program history to earn his league’s Freshman of the Year Award. The unanimous All-Mountain West Conference first-team selection also garnered All-American honors, as he led the league in both receptions and yards gained receiving.

Adams also placed ninth in the nation with his 102 catches and ranked tenth with 1,312 yards. His pass-catch figure ranks fifth on the MWC season-record chart, while his fourteen touchdowns rank fourth and yardage took the fifth spot on that annual chart. He also tied a school record by recording at least one touchdown in eight consecutive games to close out the season.

Adams and quarterback Derek Carr had developed instant chemistry, as the duo would hook up on 38 touchdowns over their two seasons together. Adams went on to rewrite any of the records he set the previous season in 2013. The Paul Warfield Award winner (nation’s top receiver) led the FBS ranks with school and league season-records of 24 touchdowns. He finished second nationally with 1,718 yards receiving and led the major colleges with 131 receptions, establishing new MWC and team records.

Less than a week after the Bulldogs lost to Southern California in the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl, Adams made a decision to leave school and enter his name into the 2014 NFL Draft pool. He closes out his short career ranked tenth among active NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision players with 233 receptions, leads that group with an average of 8.96 catches per game and also paced the active players with thirty-eight touchdown catches. Just three other players in the FBS in 2013 had at least thirty touchdown catches during their careers.

CAREER NOTES

Adams started twenty-six games at Fresno State, where he is the only player to record multiple 100-reception, 1,000-yard, double digit-touchdown performances … Finished with 233 receptions for 3,030 yards (13.00 ypc) and 38 touchdowns, adding 16 yards on two punt returns and one solo tackle … NCAA Career-Record Results … Adams’ average of 116.54 yards per game receiving rank eighth in NCAA history and is the best average recorded by a major college player since Kevin Curtis of Utah State averaged 124.95 yards (22 games, 2,789 yards; 2001-02) … Mountain West Conference Career-Record Results …

Adams ranks fourth in league history with 233 receptions, topped by Ryan Wolfe of San Diego State (283; 2006-09), J.R. Tolver of San Diego State (262; 1999-02) and Jovon Bouknight of Wyoming (250; 2002-05) … Set the MWC record with 38 touchdowns, as the former record-holder Austin Collie of Brigham Young (30; 2004, 2007-08) is the only other player in league annals to record at least thirty scoring grabs … Recorded three 200-yard receiving performances in 2013, setting both the league career and season records …

Tolver was the only other conference receiver to record at least two 200-yard receiving games … His thirteen 100-yard performances tied Tolver and Vincent Brown of San Diego State (2007-10) for the second-best career numbers in league annals, Topped by Collie’s seventeen century mark efforts … School Career-Record Results … Adams holds the school-record with 233 grabs, surpassing the old mark of 222 by Rodney Wright (1998-2001) … He is just the third Bulldog to gain 3,000 yards receiving (3,030), joining Wright (3,274) and Charlie Jones (3,344; 1992-95) … His thirteen 100-yard receiving games topped the old FSU record of twelve that is shared by Jones and Bernard Berrian (1999-2003) … His 38 touch-downs shattered the old record of twenty-five that is shared by both Jones and Berrian …

Compiled a string of eight consecutive games with at least one touchdown, accomplishing that feat in both 2012 and 2013 … Henry Ellard (1982) shares that record with Adams.

SEASON NOTES

NCAA Season-Record Results … Adams’ 131 receptions in 2013 tied Ryan Broyles of Oklahoma (2010) for the ninth-best season total in NCAA history … His twenty-four touch-down catches in 2013 are surpassed by only Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech (27 in 1998), randy Moss of Marshall (25 in 1997) and Stedman Bailey of West Virginia (25 in 2012) on the NCAA record chart … His 1,718 yards receiving in 2013 is good for 17^th on the major college record list … Mountain west Conference Season-Record Results … Adams holds the top spot and fifth place on the league’s annual chart with 131 receptions in 2013 and 102 in 2012, as he is the only player in conference history to reach the century mark in multiple seasons. The previous record was 128 by J.R. Tolver of San Diego State in 2002 … Holds the first and fourth spot on the touchdown reception chart with 24 in 2013 and 14 in 2012. The former record was sixteen by Tyler Shoemaker of Boise State in 2011 … His 1,718 yards receiving rank behind Tolver’s 1,785 in 2002 on the MWC record list. Adams’ 1,312 yards in 2012 holds the fifth spot on that list … His three 200-yard receiving performances in 2013 broke Tolver’s 2002 record of two … School Season-Record Results … Adams holds the first and third place positions on the school pass receptions chart. The old record was 104 catches by Rodney Wright in 2001 … Owner of the top spot and fifth place on the receiving yardage list. Wright formerly held the record with 1,630 yards in 2001. Wright is the only player (1,062 in 1999), outside of Adams, to record multiple 1,000-yard seasons for the Bulldogs … Owner of first and third on the touchdown reception list, with 24 in 2013 and 14 in 2012. Henry Ellard previously held that record with fifteen in 1982.

GAME NOTES

Mountain West Conference Game-Record Results … Adams’ sixteen receptions vs. Idaho in 2013 is topped by only J.R. Tolver of San Diego State (18 vs. Hawaii in 2002) on the league game list … His 264 yards gained vs. San Jose State in 2013 rank third in MWC annals, topped by Tolver (296 vs. Arizona state and 283 vs. Hawaii, both in 2002) … His four touch-down catches vs. Nevada-Las Vegas in 2013 tied the league game record that he now shares with Luke Ashworth of Brigham Young (at Colorado State in 2010) and Travis LaTendresse of Utah (vs. Georgia Tech in 2005) … School Game-Record Results … Adams’ sixteen catches in the 2013 Idaho clash tied Ron Jenkins (vs. Pacific in 1987) and Larry Willis (vs. Montana State in 1984) for the school record … There have been fourteen 200-yard receiving games by Bulldogs players and Adams has recorded three of them. His 2013 performances of 264 yards vs. san Jose State is third, 246 yards vs. New Mexico is fourth and 221 yards vs. Nevada-Las Vegas ranks eleventh on that list. The only players to record more yards in a game were Rodney Wright (2999 vs. Michigan State, 2001) and Larry Willis (282 vs. Montana State, 1984).

SEASON ANALYSIS

2013 SEASON

Adams received All-American first-team honors from The NFL Draft Report and was a unanimous All-Mountain West Conference first-team choice … The Biletnikoff Award semifinalist was the recipient of the Paul Warfield Award that is presented to the nation’s best receiver by the Touchdown Club of Columbus … Led the nation in receptions (131), receptions per game (10.08) and was second in receiving yards per game (132.22) … His 24 touchdown catches shattered the school and Mountain West season records, and were eight more than any other player in the nation had … His individual touchdown catch total was better than the entire team output by 87 of the 123 universities in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision … Gained 1,718 yards receiving and scored 144 points, as he also had one fumble recovery … Scored at least once in eight consecutive games to close out the season … Had three 200-yard receiving games, becoming only the third player this century to post three of those in the same season … Recorded two games with over 200 yards receiving and four touchdowns, becoming the second player this century to notch that feat … Caught ten or more passes in six games … Led the nation in games with double-digit receptions five) and had seven 100-yard receiving games, giving him thirteen for his career to set a new Fresno State record for most 100-yard receiving games … Caught a touchdown pass in twelve of the thirteen games he appeared in … Opened the season with fourteen catches for 148 yards and two scores vs. Rutgers, adding 110 yards with a 1-yard score on twelve grabs vs. Boise State … Hauled in a career-high sixteen tosses for 185 yards and three scores vs. Idaho, followed by eight grabs for 221 yards that included 75, 28, 36 and 37-yarrd touchdowns in the Nevada-Las Vegas clash … Posted twelve catches for 87 yards and a pair of scores at San Diego State and hauled in eight balls for 84 yards and a touchdown vs. Nevada … Made eleven catches for 79 yards and a score at Wyoming and tallied nine catches for 246 yards and touchdowns of 57, 44, 59 and 39 yards vs. New Mexico … Added a career-high 264 yards on thirteen grabs that included 23, 4 and 32-yard touchdowns vs. San Jose State and snared nine throws for 168 yards and a score vs. Utah State … Closed out his career with nine receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown vs. Southern California in the Las Vegas Bowl.

2012 SEASON

Adams was a third-team All-American choice by The NFL Draft Report and honorable mention by Sports Illustrated … Named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, becoming just the third freshman in school history to be named the conference’s freshman of the year … Added All-MWC first-team recognition and was a Freshman All-American choice by CBSSports.com, Phil Steele and the Sporting News … Became the first freshman receiver to ever be a unanimous first-team pick in league history, as he went on to lead the MWC in every receiving category … Also finished ninth in the nation with an average of 7.85 receptions per game and placed tenth in the FBS with 100.92 yards receiving per game … Hauled in 102 passes for 1,312 yards (12.86 ypc) and fourteen touch-downs … Tied a school record with eight consecutive games with at least one touchdown reception … Set new Mountain West and school records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches by a freshman … Led all FBS freshmen receivers in receiving yards, yards per game and touchdown catches … Was a nominee for the College Football Performance Awards National Freshman Performer of the Year Award and was added midseason to the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award … named the Bulldog MVP of the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl after catching 13 passes for 144 yards and one touchdown in the loss to Southern Methodist, as he set a new MWC game record for most receptions by a freshman with that bowl performance … Became the first receiver in school history to have three games of 10 or more receptions in a single-season … Caught seven passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener vs. Weber State, becoming the first Bulldog freshman in school history to have a 100-yard receiving day in his first career game … Had 12 receptions for 92 yards at Oregon and caught 11 passes in a win over Wyoming for 86 yards and a touchdown … Recorded six 100-yard receiving games, which tied for the third-most in a single season in program history … His 89-yard touchdown reception at New Mexico tied for the sixth-longest in the FBS in 2012 and he had three touchdown catches of over 60 yards on the year … posted a season-best 198 yards with two scores on nine catches vs. New Mexico … Produced six or more receptions in nine of the thirteen games on the season and he had four games with two touchdowns.

2011 SEASON

Adams red-shirted during his first season at Fresno State, but received the Dick Duncan Scout Team Player of the Year Award for offense.

INJURY REPORT

Adams has never missed a game due to an injury.

AGILITY TESTS

4.56 in the 40-yard dash … 1.64 10-yard dash … 2.68 20-yard dash … 4.30 20-yard shuttle … 6.82 three-cone drill … 39 ½-inch vertical jump … 10’-3” broad jump … Bench pressed 225 pounds 14 times … 32 5/8-inch arm length … 9-inch hands … 77 ¾-inch wingspan.

HIGH SCHOOL

Adams attended Palo Alto (Cal.) High School, lettering in both football and basketball …

As a junior, he recorded 29 receptions for 484 yards and seven touchdowns, along with bringing the crowd to its feet when he recovered a short kick to serpentine through the ground for a 67-yard runback … Played on both sides of the ball as a senior, helping lead his team to the CIF state championship … As a receiver, he exploded for 1,094 yards and eleven touchdowns on 63 receptions … As a defensive back, he recorded 44 tackles, two for losses, as he caused a pair of fumbles, picked off a pass and deflected three others … Regarded as a two-star prospect in both sports, he averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as a junior on the basketball team … During his final season on the hardwood court, he averaged 9.4 points, 5.4 assists, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and o.3 blocks per game.

PERSONAL

Adams is a Physical Education major … Son of Pamela Brown and Douglas Adams … Born 12/24/92 in Palo Alto, California.

PLAYER STATISTICS