When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Ohio State OT Mike Adams in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft, many thought that Pittsburgh was getting their future franchise left tackle. Adams was widely regarded as one of the top tackle prospects in the draft class and a potential first-round pick before falling into the second round after he tested positive for drug use at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine. Adams fell out of the first day, but still ended up getting selected by his favorite team 56th overall, pairing him with OG David DeCastro as Pittsburgh made a heavy investment to improve the trenches.
The investment in Adams failed to pay off, however, as Adams went through a slew of unfortunate circumstances. They included getting injured his rookie season, getting benched after a disastrous sophomore season, playing as a backup his third season, and missing the entire 2015 season after undergoing a back operation prior to the start of training camp.
The Steelers released Adams in May 2016 with a failed physical designation as he struggled to get healthy after numerous complications with the back injury he had dealt with the previous couple of seasons. However, while appearing as a guest on the All For Nothing podcast hosted by Tyler Bossetti, Adams said that he received help from another former Steelers left tackle: Jon Kolb.
“I missed that whole year, that whole contract year I wasn’t able to get back,” Adams said on the podcast that aired on All For Nothing’s YouTube channel. “I rehabbed with a Steelers Hall of Fame left tackle legend: Terry Bradshaw’s left tackle Jon Kolb… four-time Super Bowl winner. He’s a physical therapist in the area where I was living, but a physical therapist not for sports, but for like people with neurological injuries, spinal cord injuries, things like that. He’s like teaching stroke victims how to walk again and stuff.”
Kolb played in Pittsburgh from 1969-1981 and appeared in 177 games with 138 starts. The former third-round pick out of Oklahoma State went on to become possibly the best LT in franchise history, being recognized as a first-team All-Pro in 1979 while winning four Super Bowls in the 70s with Pittsburgh. Kolb was also named to Pittsburgh’s all-time team and made the Hall of Honor. After he retired, Kolb served in the Steelers’ strength and conditioning department as well as helped as an OL coach, TE coach, and DL coach.
Kolb ended up getting into physical therapy while continuing his role as a sports performance coach at Specialty Orthopedics in Hermitage, Pa. In his role, Kolb trains high school, collegiate, and professional athletes, but also works with patients who suffer from diseases like Parkinson’s, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, diabetes, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and spinal-cord injuries like Adams dealt with.
“Someone saw me at Planet Fitness just walking on the treadmill and they worked there,” Adams said. “They had messaged him that they saw me, and he was like, ‘Please have him come in.’ And so I went in the next day, he asked me if I wanted to get healthy again. I said yes. The next day, we start at 5:30 AM. We’re on the treadmill doing incline treadmill walks for an hour while he’s reading me Bible verses or Bible passages. And we’re studying the Word and doing all these things together. I start getting better physically. We start public speaking together about God in a bunch of different communities around Pittsburgh called the Legend of the Huddle.”
Kolb not only made a notable impact in sports performance and patient health/rehabilitation after he retired from the Steelers, but he also contributed in various ways in expressing his faith through programs like Legend of the Huddle as well as Locking Arms Men. That impact rubbed off on Adams, who not only got better physically under Kolb’s guidance, but also felt the need to go out into the community to share the Word and enrich other spiritually as Kolb had done for him. Adams ultimately got hurt against playing with the Bears in 2016, ending his NFL career. Still, he remembers and appreciates the impact Kolb made on his life, helping him get back to full health while making a difference off the field.
