Gaines Adams route to the National Football League was a road less traveled, running from a small private school not on college scouts typical route to a spit-and-polish military prep school in Virginia and through Clemson University.

He had so many obstacles that he overcame, former Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said. Just a great story of patience and perseverance.

Adams was home in Greenwood, S.C., after his third NFL season. According to friends he awoke Sunday morning with chest pains and died a short while later. He was 26.

EMS was called to Adams home at 7:14 a.m. He was taken to the emergency room at Self Regional Hospital in Greenwood where he was pronounced dead at 8:21 a.m. Greenwood County Coroner James T. Coursey said Adams died of cardiac arrest because of an enlarged heart.

The State Law Enforcement Division is conducting toxicology tests though drug use was not suspected as a factor in Adams death, said Greenwood County chief deputy coroner Marcia Kelley-Clark. Those results probably will not be available for at least two months.

I feel terrible, said Steve Taneyhill, Adams coach at tiny Cambridge Academy in Greenwood. To think that at 26 years old hes not here. Thats really tough.

A unanimous All-American at Clemson as a senior, Adams was the fourth overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A defensive end, he was traded to the Chicago Bears midway through the current season for a second-round draft pick. During his time in Tampa, Adams had 13.5 sacks in 37 games.

Adams chose to return to Clemson for his senior season rather than enter the draft early. Bowden sat with the family in his office for more than an hour helping them sort through their sons options. By then it wasnt about whether Adams would be drafted or not, but where. At 6-feet-5 and 260 pounds, Adams was long and athletic with uncommon quickness and speed for a defensive lineman.

His parents wanted him to graduate, and Vic Koenning, Clemsons defensive coordinator at the time, believed Adams could help his draft status with another season. Koenning had prepared DeMarcus Ware for the NFL at Troy State, and Adams played the same position in Koennings scheme.

He was a tremendous talent, Koenning said of Adams.

The defining play of his career came on a sloppy day in Winston-Salem, N.C., when he interrupted a field goal attempt at Wake Forest University, snatched the ball from the holder and ran 66 yards for a touchdown. The play changed the games course and Clemson rallied to win 27-17.

Bowden remembered that along with his enormous talent Adams was a model citizen and student who graduated the December before he was drafted.

His dad would come out to practice and stand there in a corner and watch, Bowden said. Never say a word, never called me to complain or anything. He would just stand there and watch his son practice.

Taneyhill said the familys influence was evident when he met Adams the first day of football practice. Cambridge Academy is a nonsectarian, co-ed school with a current enrollment of about 300 students.

The thing about Gaines that tells a lot about him is that he worked for everything he got. Nothing was ever given to Gaines, he said. A lot of kids are dubbed five stars and they go right up on the depth chart, but Gaines worked for everything that came his way.

Bowden said he didnt believe Adams understood initially how good he could be.

I told him he could be one of the best defensive players Id ever have here, sat right there in his familys living room with his parents and told him that, Bowden said. I dont think he believed it until later when he started developing.

He and Taneyhill became friends after Adams entered Clemson. Taneyhill had to explain the enormity of the Clemson-South Carolina game to him because Adams hadnt grown up a fan, and after the 2005 game in Columbia, Adams called him from the team bus.

He was just one of those guys who would go out of his way to put a smile on somebody elses face, Taneyhill said. Thats one thing that everyone who met Gaines said, that he was a class act on and off the field.

Adams death was met with shock throughout football.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he remembered Adams from draft day. Our condolences to Gaines family, his teammates on the Bears and Buccaneers, and their organizations on their loss, he said in a statement.

Today is a tragic day, said ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, who drafted Adams for Tampa Bay. Gaines was an impressive kid with such a tremendous future in front of him. He was a great teammate and well-liked by our coaches and all those who had the opportunity to be around him in Tampa.

Current Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was wide receivers coach on Bowdens staff during Adams career.

This is a sad day for Clemson Nation, Swinney said. Gaines was not only a great player at Clemson, he was an outstanding young man. He was a great example of how you could progress through hard work.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Posted on January 19th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: College football news, NCAA college football