The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/230001
where are they Now? Former Safety Jamar Adams Has Made A Key Connection Off The Field J By John Borton amar Adams knew something wasn't right. The junior safety and his teammates, a loose, jubilant crew that had steamrolled their way undefeated through the 2006 season, were preparing to play the biggest game of their careers. They'd sung on bus rides to games that season. They'd laughed, enjoyed impromptu rap sessions in defensive huddles, and, with their coaches' assent, kept the mood high. But now, one day before the No. 2-ranked Wolverines were to take on the No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, solemnity Michigan's players did not yet comprehend spread over Schembechler Hall. They gathered in a team meeting room, where only a day earlier the man whose name graced the building had urged them on to victory over the Buckeyes. Now, the mood darkened, and they didn't know why. "The coaches were walking around, somber looking, and I'm thinking, why have we been loose this whole year, and now we're somber and quiet?" Adams recalled. He soon found out. Taking his usual seat by classmates Mike Hart and Chad Henne, Adams listened as Hart leaned over and whispered that he'd seen head coach Lloyd Carr tearing up. Adams has worked for the past year and a half in real estate development for Related Companies, a New York-based Stephen M. Ross business. photo courtesy jamar adams The lights were out in the room, per the normal film routine. When someone flipped them on, the players all understood that something was up. Carr addressed them as best he could. "His voice was kind of crackling, and he said that Coach Schembechler had passed away," Adams recalled. "There was a gasp in the room. Remember, less than 24 hours ago, in the same place Coach Carr was speaking from, we had just been addressed by Bo Schembechler." Adams' thoughts became a whirl of emotions, involving one of the many impactful relationships he'd made in Ann Arbor. Schembechler had touched his life.