Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: James Adams Has Hit Ground Running at Wake Forest
4/25/2022 12:00:00 PM | Football
“I have admired the job Coach Clawson has done the last eight years from afar.” - James Adams
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – James Adams first visited Wake Forest for a Junior Day event in 2000, touring the campus and then hitting Joel Coliseum for a Big Four basketball matchup against Duke.
He left impressed with what he experienced and awaited the scholarship offer from the place he wanted to call home.
"They offered mid-way through my senior year and I committed on the spot," Adams recalls. "It was a short phone call, then the rest is history."
Nearly 20 years after committing to the Demon Deacons as a linebacker, Adams has returned to join Dave Clawson's staff as safeties coach, following defensive coordinator Brad Lambert's move from Purdue.
"I have admired the job Coach Clawson has done the last eight years from afar," Adams said. "As a Demon Deacon, I have been proud of the accomplishments and the growth. The fact that he flew myself and my wife down for the interview told me everything I needed to know about him.
"He's been successful, has a way and has a plan. My family is important, so his building a relationship with them and making sure they're all-in is meaningful. If that's important to coach, it's important to me."
While the family atmosphere and home-feel of Wake Forest Football has not changed in the last two decades, the buildings housing those people certainly have.
"When you get here, whatever image you have of this place, just go ahead and erase it," Lambert, who served before under former head coach Jim Grobe, told Adams prior to his arrival. "It's not even close."
"He was right," Adams said with a laugh.
Adams can't help but reflect on his Wake Forest journey as he takes the mantle of a position group that needs to show marked improvement as the Demon Deacons embark on a 2022 campaign they believe can be special.
"It was my first time on campus," Adams said about that 2020 Junior Day event. "It felt small and had an intimate atmosphere. Joel Coliseum was packed. I remember enjoying the game and enjoying the sights and sounds of the game and the atmosphere."
Graduating in 2006, Adams fondly remembers bonding with fellow Wake Forest student-athletes in the Miller center.
"I enjoyed spending time with the student-athletes on the basketball, baseball, volleyball and soccer teams," he said. "Wake Forest has a tight-knit community of student-athletes. We would get together after tutoring sessions. I got to meet people from different places and different sports, and found them to be incredibly interesting. I loved getting to know them, where they came from and why they chose Wake Forest. Those are some of my fondest memories."
Adams was a graduate assistant on Grobe's staff in 2009, then had stints at Wofford, Charlotte, Western Michigan, Navy and Purdue. He has returned to Winston-Salem with his wife Tori and two children, Londyn and Royce.
"First of all, I'm a husband," Adams said. "I married my high-school sweetheart. She's my rock. She's seen me go through this process as a player and a coach, and now as a father. She's been there for everything. Then I'm a father. I have two children, an 11-year old daughter and a seven-year old son. I value the time I have with them, even though during the season it can be limited. I'm so proud of the people they are becoming."
He considers coaching football a teaching position, both in the game itself and for life beyond football.
"Even though I'm not a certified teacher, I think my responsibility as a coach is to teach," Adams explained. "It's up to me to be creative enough to help our guys learn. Then there's my responsibilities to facilitate opportunities and conversations. It's my job to coordinate their needs with our resources. Then the last thing is to collaborate. I enjoy meeting with and working with new people.
"We have a lot of folks who work in the football office, and I love that, because I get to interact with them on a daily basis, figure out where they're from, how they tick and learn from their experiences. All of that goes into making us the best Wake Forest Football program we can be. That's who I am on a daily basis. I wake up every morning and before my feet hit the ground, I thank the Good Lord for waking me up, and thank him for my wife, my kids and for the opportunity to do my job — in that order."
While his 12-year coaching career has consisted of six stops so far, Adams is ready to settle back in at Wake Forest.
"I haven't had a bad stop yet and I'm hoping this will be home for awhile," he said. "I'm hoping to plant some roots and be here for the long haul. I've made a conscious decision in the past to chase people. There are titles and leagues, but I've been in pursuit of people — good people who are going to do it the right way. And head coaches who are going to let me be me.
"Everyday I want to be my authentic self and unapologetically me. If I'm ever in an environment where I can't be myself, I'm not going to be at my best — I'm not going to be the best coach or best recruiter. But if I can be myself, I can flourish. Success will come, both on and off the field."
He left impressed with what he experienced and awaited the scholarship offer from the place he wanted to call home.
"They offered mid-way through my senior year and I committed on the spot," Adams recalls. "It was a short phone call, then the rest is history."
Nearly 20 years after committing to the Demon Deacons as a linebacker, Adams has returned to join Dave Clawson's staff as safeties coach, following defensive coordinator Brad Lambert's move from Purdue.
"I have admired the job Coach Clawson has done the last eight years from afar," Adams said. "As a Demon Deacon, I have been proud of the accomplishments and the growth. The fact that he flew myself and my wife down for the interview told me everything I needed to know about him.
"He's been successful, has a way and has a plan. My family is important, so his building a relationship with them and making sure they're all-in is meaningful. If that's important to coach, it's important to me."
While the family atmosphere and home-feel of Wake Forest Football has not changed in the last two decades, the buildings housing those people certainly have.
"When you get here, whatever image you have of this place, just go ahead and erase it," Lambert, who served before under former head coach Jim Grobe, told Adams prior to his arrival. "It's not even close."
"He was right," Adams said with a laugh.
Adams can't help but reflect on his Wake Forest journey as he takes the mantle of a position group that needs to show marked improvement as the Demon Deacons embark on a 2022 campaign they believe can be special.
"It was my first time on campus," Adams said about that 2020 Junior Day event. "It felt small and had an intimate atmosphere. Joel Coliseum was packed. I remember enjoying the game and enjoying the sights and sounds of the game and the atmosphere."
Graduating in 2006, Adams fondly remembers bonding with fellow Wake Forest student-athletes in the Miller center.
"I enjoyed spending time with the student-athletes on the basketball, baseball, volleyball and soccer teams," he said. "Wake Forest has a tight-knit community of student-athletes. We would get together after tutoring sessions. I got to meet people from different places and different sports, and found them to be incredibly interesting. I loved getting to know them, where they came from and why they chose Wake Forest. Those are some of my fondest memories."
Adams was a graduate assistant on Grobe's staff in 2009, then had stints at Wofford, Charlotte, Western Michigan, Navy and Purdue. He has returned to Winston-Salem with his wife Tori and two children, Londyn and Royce.
"First of all, I'm a husband," Adams said. "I married my high-school sweetheart. She's my rock. She's seen me go through this process as a player and a coach, and now as a father. She's been there for everything. Then I'm a father. I have two children, an 11-year old daughter and a seven-year old son. I value the time I have with them, even though during the season it can be limited. I'm so proud of the people they are becoming."
He considers coaching football a teaching position, both in the game itself and for life beyond football.
"Even though I'm not a certified teacher, I think my responsibility as a coach is to teach," Adams explained. "It's up to me to be creative enough to help our guys learn. Then there's my responsibilities to facilitate opportunities and conversations. It's my job to coordinate their needs with our resources. Then the last thing is to collaborate. I enjoy meeting with and working with new people.
"We have a lot of folks who work in the football office, and I love that, because I get to interact with them on a daily basis, figure out where they're from, how they tick and learn from their experiences. All of that goes into making us the best Wake Forest Football program we can be. That's who I am on a daily basis. I wake up every morning and before my feet hit the ground, I thank the Good Lord for waking me up, and thank him for my wife, my kids and for the opportunity to do my job — in that order."
While his 12-year coaching career has consisted of six stops so far, Adams is ready to settle back in at Wake Forest.
"I haven't had a bad stop yet and I'm hoping this will be home for awhile," he said. "I'm hoping to plant some roots and be here for the long haul. I've made a conscious decision in the past to chase people. There are titles and leagues, but I've been in pursuit of people — good people who are going to do it the right way. And head coaches who are going to let me be me.
"Everyday I want to be my authentic self and unapologetically me. If I'm ever in an environment where I can't be myself, I'm not going to be at my best — I'm not going to be the best coach or best recruiter. But if I can be myself, I can flourish. Success will come, both on and off the field."
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