Jonathan Adams Jr. (born January 21, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Arkansas State Red Wolves and was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent after the 2021 NFL draft. He has also played for the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL).
| No. 12 – Memphis Showboats | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | January 21, 1999 Jonesboro, Arkansas, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Jonesboro | ||||||||||||
| College: | Arkansas State (2017–2020) | ||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| Career spring football statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
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High school
editAdams was a four-year letterer and starter at Jonesboro High School in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In his final two years alone, Adams caught 139 passes for 2,633 yards and 45 touchdowns.[1] He was named Arkansas 6A Player of the Year as a senior. A two-star recruit, Adams was lightly recruited and accepted a scholarship offer from his hometown college of Arkansas State University, over offers from Air Force, Central Arkansas, and Missouri State, and walk-on offers from Arkansas and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.[2] He also earned all-state honors in basketball.
College career
editArriving at Arkansas State, Adams appeared in nearly every game as a freshman and sophomore but was primarily a backup, catching 25 passes for 344 yards for four touchdowns across his first two seasons. Adams missed most of his junior year to instead focus on basketball, playing in four games and starting in one, catching 77 yards and a touchdown on the season.[3][4]
As a senior, Adams caught 75 passes for 1,111 yards and 15 touchdowns.[5] In the season's second game, Adams helped upset the favored Kansas State by catching 8 passes for 98 yards and three touchdowns, securing a 35–31 win over the Wildcats.[6] He was named the 247Sports Player Of The Week twice, the 2020 Sun Belt Player of the Year, and a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award.[7] He also played on the Red Wolves basketball team until his senior year.
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+7⁄8 in (1.90 m) |
219 lb (99 kg) |
32+1⁄8 in (0.82 m) |
9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.57 s | 1.60 s | 2.56 s | 4.31 s | 36.5 in (0.93 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
15 reps | ||
| All values from NFL Combine[8] | ||||||||||||
Detroit Lions
editAfter going undrafted, Adams was invited to the Detroit Lions' training camp in April 2021 and was signed to the team on May 1.[9] Despite making an "impressive showing" during summer camps and performing well in the Lions's first preseason game,[by whom?] Adams was cut on August 20.[10] On September 10, 2021, Adams was suspended from the league for six weeks due to an undisclosed violation.[11]
New Orleans Breakers
editAdams was drafted the 15th round of the 2022 USFL draft by the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL). In the 2022 season, Adams caught 31 passes for 406 yards and five touchdowns, finishing fifth in the league for receiving yards for the season.[12] He re-signed with the Breakers on September 20, 2023.[13] The Breakers folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[14]
Memphis Showboats
editAdams was selected during the 2024 UFL dispersal draft by the Memphis Showboats on January 5, 2024.[15] He re-signed with the Showboats on August 26, 2024.[16]
References
edit- ^ "Jonathan Adams' Football Stats". MaxPreps. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ Marcello, Brandon (September 14, 2020). "247Sports Player of the Week: Arkansas State's Jonathan Adams Jr". 247Sports. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ "Jonathan Adams 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Jonathan Adams 2018 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Jonathan Adams Jr. College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Arkansas State at Kansas State Box Score, September 12, 2020". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year Winners". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Jonathan Adams NFL Combine".
- ^ "Arkansas State WR Jonathan Adams to sign with Detroit Lions". KAIT8. May 1, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ Reisman, Jeremy (May 20, 2021). "Detroit Lions finalize 2021 preseason schedule". Pride Of Detroit. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ Risdon, Jeff (September 10, 2021). "Ex-Lions WR Jonathan Adams suspended 6 games by the NFL". Lions Wire. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "J. Adams, #9". FOX Sports. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ @USFLBreakers (September 20, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved September 21, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "UFL Analyst on X (Twitter): Former Breakers WR Jonathan Adams has been selected by the Memphis Showboats, per his agency".
- ^ @UFL_PR (August 26, 2024). "The #UFL has announced the following transactions" (Tweet). Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Twitter.