Illinois football's Isaiah Adams is mild-mannered off the field but has a mean streak on the field that's led him to a hot start.
www.stltoday.com
By Anderson Kimball Decatur (Ill.) Herald & Review
CHAMPAIGN — When
Isaiah Adams gets on the bus before a game, he enters a different gear.
At first, he can seem personable and easy-going, and that’s the impression the Illinois coaching staff got from him. But they got an introduction to a new side of him when the season got underway.
“He’s locked in, headphones on; he’s a different person,” tackle
Julian Pearl said. “Not this person off the field.”
Illinois coach
Bret Bielema noticed the same thing.
“I will tell you that I have learned: Mr. Adams is a very nice, soft-spoken, kind individual, but on Saturdays, he is a big (jerk),” Bielema said Sept. 13 after the team’s game against Indiana.
It was a description Adams was a little surprised by. He got the news after being sent a tweet about Bielema’s description from his mother.
“At first, I didn’t know what to take from it, and then I talked to some guys on the team just told me keep doing what you’re doing,” Adams said. “So I took it as a good thing. I’m cool with it. As long as he’s happy with my play, that can be whatever he wants. I’ll just execute.”
Adams has had a passion for football since he got hooked playing in Canada. That brought him through the ranks there and through junior college. Now, he’s taken that on-field aggression to the Big Ten.