Thus ends any concerns about Notre Dame exceeding the 85 scholarships allowed by the NCAA in 2018. The Irish dropped to the mark not with the bang of a dismissal or an unexpected transfer, but with the whimper of the medical exemption of sophomore reserve linebacker David Adams, announced by Adams via Twitter late Tuesday evening.
“It absolutely kills me to walk away from football, my true love,” Adams posted. “However, these are circumstances that I cannot control. I’ve prided myself on my work ethic and have spent countless hours perfecting my craft to be the best player I could and can be.
Adams detailed a lengthy list of injuries, including concussions, a surgery on each shoulder, knee surgery, torn ligaments and continued chronic ailments. He will remain on scholarship at the University and be a part of the football program in some capacity but will not count toward the roster’s limit.
“My return to football is currently unknown.”
Considering Adams played his entire senior season of high school football with a torn UCL in his elbow suffered in the season opener, it is safe to assume these injuries became too much to overcome on any tangible timeline. Otherwise, he would have. Adams put off the surgery to repair that elbow until after the Under Armour All-American game, not wanting to diminish that experience in any way.
“I only missed 1 game (in high school) due to have [sic] a very bad case of the Flu,” Adams wrote. “I prided myself on always being ready for every practice and game. On Friday nights when the lights came on, I was always ready to go.
“I only know one way to play the game and that is as violent and fast as humanly possible.”
— David Adams (@David_Adams1335) June 20, 2018
Adams did not see any action last season, partly a result of that injury and partly a result of the Irish having a trio of experienced linebackers eating up the vast majority of snaps. In that vein, a look at what Adams’ 99-to-2 entry would have looked like, set to be published Thursday …
No. 35 DAVID ADAMS
Listed Measurements: 6-foot-¾, 222 pounds
2018-19 year, eligibility: Sophomore with four seasons of eligibility remaining, including 2018.
Depth chart: Adams would have been competing for third-string practice snaps with classmate Drew White and freshmen Bo Bauer and Jack Lamb at either interior linebacker position.
Recruiting: A rivals.com three-star recruit, Adams chose Notre Dame over offers from Florida, LSU, Michigan and Michigan State, among others. The Under Armour All-American was rated the No. 18 linebacker in the country and the No. 8 prospect in Pennsylvania by rivals.com.
CAREER TO DATE
Adams saw no action his freshman season, preserving a year of eligibility.
SPRING
Adams was not discussed in spring practice, but a variety of injuries keeping him sidelined would explain that.
WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Adams should not expect to see much playing time on defense this season. More of a run-stopping linebacker than one ready to drop into coverage, he fits more into the role currently filled by [Nyles] Morgan than anywhere else. Backing up Morgan is not a position that will lead to much, if any, playing time.
“… Adams will have a prime chance to start as a sophomore. His instincts indicate he will fit the Morgan role. The only question will be if he fits better than [current-junior Jonathan] Jones or White. Even if one of those two earns the starting nod, Adams will be a primary backup.”
2018 OUTLOOK
To some degree, it is hard to project if a healthy Adams had a chance at much playing time this season or if the consistency of Jones and the position change of Jordan Genmark-Heath knocked him too far down the depth chart no matter what. It can be presumed the latter’s move from safety occurred not only to better serve his skillset, but also to patch a gap in the two-deep. Again, though, that hole may have existed, at least in part, due to Adams’ injuries.
Either way, fifth-year Buck linebacker Drue Tranquill ended any possibilities of Adams starting this season when Tranquill moved inside from rover during the offseason.
DOWN THE ROAD
Both Tranquill and senior Mike linebacker Te’von Coney will be out of eligibility after this season, meaning Adams would have had a ripe chance to push for a starting gig next season. Along with White, Jones, Bauer and Lamb, he presumably would have ended up some piece of a rotation in 2019.
That said, Bauer and Lamb arrived a semester early highly-touted and carrying greater expectations than had ever been anticipated from Adams. Former defensive coordinator Mike Elko recruited Bauer and Lamb with his system in mind, a system kept in place by new Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea, who daylights as the linebackers coach. Adams may have seen significant playing time in 2019, but the current freshman duo was due to pass him by at some point in the future.
NOTRE DAME 99-to-2:
No. 99 Jerry Tillery, defensive tackle, senior
No. 98 Ja’Mion Franklin, defensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 97 Micah Dew-Treadway, defensive tackle, senior
No. 95 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, defensive tackle, sophomore
No. 94 Darnell Ewell, defensive tackle, sophomore
No. 91 Ade Ogundeji, defensive end, junior
No. 89 Brock Wright, tight end, sophomore
No. 88 Javon McKinley, receiver, junior
No. 87 Michael Young, receiver, sophomore
No. 86 Alizé Mack, tight end, senior
No. 85 George Takacs, tight end, early-enrolled freshman
No. 85 Tyler Newsome, punter and captain, fifth-year senior
No. 84 Cole Kmet, tight end, sophomore
No. 83 Chase Claypool, receiver, junior
No. 82 Nic Weishar, tight end, fifth-year senior
No. 81 Miles Boykin, receiver, senior
No. 80 Micah Jones, receiver, early-enrolled freshman
No. 78 Tommy Kraemer, right guard, junior
No. 76 Dillan Gibbons, offensive lineman, sophomore
No. 75 Josh Lugg, offensive lineman, sophomore
No. 74 Liam Eichenberg, starting left tackle, junior
No. 72 Robert Hainsey, right tackle, sophomore
No. 71 Alex Bars, left guard and captain, fifth-year senior
No. 70 Luke Jones, offensive lineman, incoming freshman
No. 69 Aaron Banks, offensive tackle, sophomore
No. 68 Jarrett Patterson, offensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 60 Cole Mabry, offensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 57 Trevor Ruhland, offensive lineman, senior
No. 57 (theoretically) Jayson Ademilola, defensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 56 John Dirksen, offensive lineman, incoming freshman
No. 55 Jonathan Bonner, defensive tackle, fifth-year senior
No. 54 John Shannon, long snapper, junior
No. 53 Khalid Kareem, defensive end, junior
No. 53 Sam Mustipher, center and captain, fifth-year senior
No. 52 Bo Bauer, linebacker, early-enrolled freshman
No. 47 Kofi Wardlow, defensive end, sophomore
No. 45 Jonathan Jones, linebacker, junior
No. 44 Jamir Jones, defensive end, junior
No. 42 Julian Okwara, defensive end, junior
No. 41 Kurt Hinish, defensive tackle, sophomore
No. 40 Drew White, linebacker, sophomore
No. 33 Shayne Simon, linebacker, incoming freshman
No. 24 Tommy Tremble, tight end, incoming freshman
MEDICAL EXEMPTION
No. 35 David Adams, linebacker, sophomore
OUTGOING TRANSFER
No. 11 Freddy Canteen, receiver, outgoing transfer
[protected-iframe id="81c5dcb3ff152b64335bc70329487cf9-15933026-22035394" info="platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” ]