Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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2015 RECRUITING ISSUE BY LOU SOMOGYI Maturity developed early in running back Josh Adams' career, both on and away from the football field. One of the nation's premier running backs as a high school sophomore at Central Bucks S o u t h i n Wa r - rington, Pa., he was headed on a similar path as a junior — until a torn ACL during a relatively non-violent hit on a kickoff return side- lined him. " I t d e f i n i t e l y made me realize that the game could be taken away at any moment and nothing is promised to anyone no mat- ter how good you are or were," Ad- ams said. "One mo- ment I was ranked second in the state, and then I dropped quickly down. It helped me relate to people more. … It's easier to talk to people about their issues and their problems. "It just makes you want to help more and do better even outside the sport of football. It made me realize things come and go quickly, so you have to try to make an impact the best way you can. "It tests you as a person, either in a positive or negative way, and I think it affected me in a positive way." C e n t r a l B u c k s South head coach Tom Hetrick said the injury could prove to be a silver lining. "Some of the tests that you have to go through with that rehab, he was say- ing: 'I don't know if I could have done these things before the rehab,'" Hetrick said. "It fine-tunes all of your muscle s t ru c t u re , a n d I think that's what h a p p e n e d w i t h him. "He feels per- fectly balanced, and I think that helped him actually grow into his body." As a senior, Ad- ams rushed for 1,618 yards, 7.7 yards per carry and 27 touchdowns in 10 games, and Hetrick said his senior running back "did everything we needed him to do, and more, this sea- son." Josh AdAms overcomes BAttle of Wounded Knee Adams finished his high school career with 550 carries for 4,445 yards (8.1 yards per attempt) and 65 touchdowns despite suffering a knee injury during his junior campaign. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND