CHAMPAIGN — When Isaiah Adams gets on the bus before a game, he enters a different gear.
At first he can seem personable and easy-going, and that’s the impression that the Illinois coaching staff got from him. But they got an introduction to a new side of him when the season got underway.
"He's locked in, headphones on; he's a different person," tackle Julian Pearl said. "Not this person off the field."
Illinois coach Bret Bielema noticed the same thing.
“I will tell you that I have learned, Mr. Adams is a very nice, soft spoken, kind individual but on Saturdays he is a big (jerk),” Bielema said Sept. 13 after the team’s game against Indiana.
It was a description Adams was a little surprised by. He got the news after being sent a tweet about Bielema’s description from his mother.
"At first I didn't know what to take from it, and then I talked to some guys on the team just told me keep doing what you're doing," Adams said. "So I took it as a good thing. I'm cool with it. As long as he's happy with my play, that can be whatever he wants. I'll just execute."
Adams has had passion for football ever since he got hooked playing in Canada. That brought him through the ranks there and through junior college. Now he’s taken that on-field aggression to the Big Ten.
He says he likes to let his pads do the talking on the field, noting one of his favorite athletes is Tim Duncan, another quiet-mannered assassin who won NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs.
“The fact that you can dominate someone and really move them against their will,” Adams said during fall camp. “I think the ability to have that without getting in trouble by the law has been really good.”
That passion has stood out to his teammates as well. Adams has played at three positions for the Illini this season. Quarterback Tommy DeVito said there are times a less quiet version of Adams comes out.
"(He's) just aggressive, just non stop," quarterback Tommy DeVito said. "I love that as a quarterback. To see him when he's just like, finishing dudes and talking. I like that trash talk. It's all part of the game. Obviously, it's time to lock in but I feed off of it. I talk as well, but he's a man out there."
He’s built a good tandem with Pearl on the left side at guard and the rest of a line that’s been able to create space for Chase Brown and other backs as well as protecting DeVito. Adams is leading the team’s knockdown competition.
He started and has played at primarily left guard but started week two against Indiana at left tackle and moved over to right tackle for part of the game against Chattanooga.
Now he’s become the tone-setter and versatile piece that’s been vital to the offensive line’s success.
“Playing next to him, I’ve got to tell him sometimes, ‘You’ve got to be careful. You’re going a little aggressive today, huh?’” Pearl said. “I’ve got to match his energy a lot of times. I look over and he’s finishing somebody. Or say I’ve got somebody hanging off me on a pass (protection), I see his eyes snatch over and I think, ‘Yeah, he’s going to come blow him up.’ I’ve got to watch my shoulder. He’s a bull in a China shop sometimes. He’s just powerful.”
PHOTOS: Illinois beats Chattanooga at home
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
Chattanooga Illinois Football
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