The search for talent on the offensive line has brought the Canes all over the country and Miami seems to have found a gifted prospect in the Atlantic region that has mutual interest. 2020 Woodbridge (VA) 3-star OG RJ Adams received an offer from OL coach Butch Barry and the Canes last week and he took some time to discuss how the situation unfolded.
“Well I was at home, we had a snow day here in Virginia. I’ve been talking with coach Barry for a while, and he told me to call him,” Adams said. “I called him on the phone and he just told me how they do things there at the U, how he wants me to come. He was trying to get me to visit and I told him I would, and that’s when he offered me a scholarship to Miami.”
Now that he has the offer from the Hurricanes, Adams is readying to make a trip to South Florida to get a look at the campus and get to know the UM staff better. The Woodbridge star is planning on making his Miami visit later this month with a certain 5-star teammate in LB Antoine Sampah, who received his UM offer in late 2018.
“Once I got the offer from Miami, he was like, ‘Yeah, we need to take that visit’,” Adams said of Sampah. “That’s my man. We hang out, that’s pretty much my brother. We do a lot of things together – football, school. We live right down the street from each other.”
Ever since Adams’ first realized he would have the opportunity to play D-I football at the next level, he has had an interest in living and playing in the state of Florida.
“I already know Miami is nice, I just want to see it for myself, I’m very interested in it,” Adams said. “Like ‘the U’, all the background, everything about it. When I first started getting recruited, back in freshman, sophomore year, I was saying how I would want to go to a Florida school and now that I actually have the opportunity to do it, I’m thinking about Florida again.”
What makes Adams interested in attending Miami specifically?
“Just the Miami history of ‘the U’, all the history of the championships, and Ray Lewis is my favorite NFL player,” Adams said.
In terms of upcoming visits aside from Miami, Adams already has a few programs in mind. In particular, he wants to take an entire Florida tour of each Big 3 school in the Sunshine State.
“I’m probably going to get down and see Florida, Florida State. I just saw NC State this past Friday,” Adams says. “I’m definitely going to get to LSU. That’s about it for right now.”
I addition to the above programs, Adams says Penn State and West Virginia are others that are contacting him regularly. However, the 6’4” 315 pound prospect says that those schools are not his top group and that he is still figuring out which programs might be the best fit for him.
“I don’t have a top group. I’m still getting offers and evaluating schools,” Adams said. “I’ll probably sit down and narrow it down soon, though. Right now, I’m thinking about summer for a decision.”
Although a final decision is still a few months out, it’s clear Adams already knows what he is looking for in a program that will make it stand out.
“Location doesn’t really matter for me, I’m just trying to find a place that I can call home, that has a good program, and somewhere I can get a good degree,” Adams says. “Hopefully a place that can help me go to the draft, and if not, have a good life outside of football.”
As a junior, Adams had a successful season as an individual, but his team was not so lucky, just missing out on the playoffs. For his final season of high school, Adams is using the off-season to make sure Woodbridge is back in the conversation for a state title.
“Me as a person, I had a good season, but as a team, we could’ve done better. We just going to work together and we going to do better than we did last year.”
“Well I was at home, we had a snow day here in Virginia. I’ve been talking with coach Barry for a while, and he told me to call him,” Adams said. “I called him on the phone and he just told me how they do things there at the U, how he wants me to come. He was trying to get me to visit and I told him I would, and that’s when he offered me a scholarship to Miami.”
Now that he has the offer from the Hurricanes, Adams is readying to make a trip to South Florida to get a look at the campus and get to know the UM staff better. The Woodbridge star is planning on making his Miami visit later this month with a certain 5-star teammate in LB Antoine Sampah, who received his UM offer in late 2018.
“Once I got the offer from Miami, he was like, ‘Yeah, we need to take that visit’,” Adams said of Sampah. “That’s my man. We hang out, that’s pretty much my brother. We do a lot of things together – football, school. We live right down the street from each other.”
Ever since Adams’ first realized he would have the opportunity to play D-I football at the next level, he has had an interest in living and playing in the state of Florida.
“I already know Miami is nice, I just want to see it for myself, I’m very interested in it,” Adams said. “Like ‘the U’, all the background, everything about it. When I first started getting recruited, back in freshman, sophomore year, I was saying how I would want to go to a Florida school and now that I actually have the opportunity to do it, I’m thinking about Florida again.”
What makes Adams interested in attending Miami specifically?
“Just the Miami history of ‘the U’, all the history of the championships, and Ray Lewis is my favorite NFL player,” Adams said.
In terms of upcoming visits aside from Miami, Adams already has a few programs in mind. In particular, he wants to take an entire Florida tour of each Big 3 school in the Sunshine State.
“I’m probably going to get down and see Florida, Florida State. I just saw NC State this past Friday,” Adams says. “I’m definitely going to get to LSU. That’s about it for right now.”
I addition to the above programs, Adams says Penn State and West Virginia are others that are contacting him regularly. However, the 6’4” 315 pound prospect says that those schools are not his top group and that he is still figuring out which programs might be the best fit for him.
“I don’t have a top group. I’m still getting offers and evaluating schools,” Adams said. “I’ll probably sit down and narrow it down soon, though. Right now, I’m thinking about summer for a decision.”
Although a final decision is still a few months out, it’s clear Adams already knows what he is looking for in a program that will make it stand out.
“Location doesn’t really matter for me, I’m just trying to find a place that I can call home, that has a good program, and somewhere I can get a good degree,” Adams says. “Hopefully a place that can help me go to the draft, and if not, have a good life outside of football.”
As a junior, Adams had a successful season as an individual, but his team was not so lucky, just missing out on the playoffs. For his final season of high school, Adams is using the off-season to make sure Woodbridge is back in the conversation for a state title.
“Me as a person, I had a good season, but as a team, we could’ve done better. We just going to work together and we going to do better than we did last year.”
