Bill Haisten: As OU and OSU drag their feet, Alabama dazzles Owasso's Cole Adams
OWASSO — When Bill Blankenship was the University of Tulsa’s first-year head football coach in 2011, Holman Wiggins was a staff member.
Currently, Wiggins is Alabama’s receivers coach and Nick Saban’s assistant head coach of offense.
Blankenship has been the Owasso head man since 2017, and on Wednesday he had a visitor. It was Holman, who traveled to Oklahoma to spend some time with a Crimson Tide recruiting target: Rams wide receiver Cole Adams, a freakishly athletic and fast Class of 2023 prospect who has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, LSU and Texas A&M of the SEC, but, weirdly enough, not from SEC-bound Oklahoma or Oklahoma State.
Scholarship offers have come from 18 schools. The University of Tulsa offered. So did Iowa State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Tennessee.
But not OU or Oklahoma State. Not yet.
I get stuck on the OU-and-OSU part of this story because it makes no sense. Why would a four-star Oklahoma athlete like Adams not be a high-priority figure at each of the OU/OSU schools?
If you’re familiar with OU’s personnel but haven’t seen Adams play, he is built like Drake Stoops was built during his high school run at Norman North.
Adams is 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. Too small, you might say? Adams is taller than either of Bixby’s Presley brothers — the last two Oklahoma players of the year. Adams is the same size today that Odell Beckham Jr. was as a high school athlete.
Stoops is an outstanding receiver with nice football speed. Adams is a brilliant player with phenomenal hands, unteachable instincts and track speed.
The next three months will be eventful. In May, Adams competes in postseason track meets and participates in spring football. After that, he’ll take five official recruiting visits. He has not decided on the five destinations.
Preseason football practice begins in early August. Owasso opens the season with a blockbuster — a late August home clash against Bixby.
At some point before the Bixby game, Adams intends to announce his commitment. He plans to graduate from Owasso High School in December, be on a college campus in January and run on Power Five turf during 2023 spring practice.
In January, Adams recalls, “I got a text from Bill Blankenship saying that (two Alabama staff members) were going to start hitting me up. I prayed about it. I thanked God for it. When I heard about that, I was just blown away.
“I had some big offers before that ... but when Alabama hit me up — Nick Saban and those guys are legends down there.”
Adams recited a stat: Within Alabama’s past nine graduating classes, each player left with a national championship ring.
“I’m loving the recruiting process,” Adams said. “It’s new to me and my family. (There are) a lot of mentors around me and coaches helping me through the process.”
This week, Adams did make an unofficial visit to OU and posed for photos while wearing Sooner colors. Still, there has been no official offer from Brent Venables.
“This upcoming spring ball,” Adams reported, “(OU) is coming out to watch me, as well as Alabama, Arkansas and those other schools.”
Cole Adams is the younger brother of former Rams star Dawson Adams and the twin brother of Jake Adams, Owasso’s kicker. Their mom is Kristi Adams, a former Webster athlete who now teaches in the Owasso school system.
Their dad is Mike Adams, a former football and track star at Memorial and at Northeastern State in Tahlequah. Mike was an undrafted rookie defensive back with the 1988 Dallas Cowboys (the final Tom Landry-coached Cowboys team). On a daily basis, Adams’ coverage assignment was to shadow another Cowboy rookie — wide receiver Michael Irvin. Mike Adams played in two preseason games and survived the first two cuts during that training camp, but not the third.
During the 2022 season, there won’t be any diminishing of the star power that defined Tulsa-area high school football during the past decade.
Booker T. Washington’s Micah Tease is a fantastic two-way performer. As Bixby shifts to Class 6AI after having been the seven-time 6AII champion, twin brothers Luke and Dylan Hasz are still on the Spartans’ roster. As a ninth-grader last season, Shaker Reisig quarterbacked Jenks to the 6AI championship.
Cole Adams’ talent can be explained pretty easily: An Alabama assistant spent his Wednesday in Owasso, and Adams was 100% of the reason why.
The versatile Adams is a Dillon Stoner type who impacts winning in every possible way. He has scored touchdowns on receptions, on run plays, on kickoff returns and on punt returns. As a lefty with a nice release, he has thrown a touchdown pass.
As the holder on extra-point kicks, Adams has collected the snap and rolled to either side for two-point conversions. He has blocked a punt. During the fourth quarter of a close game, he’s in the defensive backfield.
In Owasso’s 41-40 upset loss at Broken Arrow in a 6AI quarterfinal last season, Adams’ stunning performance included two kickoff-return touchdowns and a 42-yard TD reception. He also popped a 75-yard punt return, but that play was wiped out because of a penalty.
For the Rams’ track program, Adams runs the 100 meters (with a 10.65-second personal best) and the 200. He is a member of the 4-by-100 and 4-by-200 relay teams. An athlete’s speed isn’t considered elite unless there’s been a sub-seven-second sprint in the 60 meters, and Adams has done that.
Blankenship’s assessment: “Cole is definitely in the conversation of the best I’ve coached (at the high school level).”
Why would OU and OSU coaches allow Alabama to outwork them for an in-state playmaker who has a 3.63 grade point average and serves as a mentor for Special Olympics athletes?
I consider Cole Adams a can’t-miss guy at the next level, but don’t take my word for it. Arkansas’ Sam Pittman and Alabama’s Nick Saban seem anxious to coach him.
By dragging their feet, the Sooners and Cowboys seem to have given Alabama a head start in the relationship game.
OWASSO — When Bill Blankenship was the University of Tulsa’s first-year head football coach in 2011, Holman Wiggins was a staff member.
Currently, Wiggins is Alabama’s receivers coach and Nick Saban’s assistant head coach of offense.
Blankenship has been the Owasso head man since 2017, and on Wednesday he had a visitor. It was Holman, who traveled to Oklahoma to spend some time with a Crimson Tide recruiting target: Rams wide receiver Cole Adams, a freakishly athletic and fast Class of 2023 prospect who has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, LSU and Texas A&M of the SEC, but, weirdly enough, not from SEC-bound Oklahoma or Oklahoma State.
Scholarship offers have come from 18 schools. The University of Tulsa offered. So did Iowa State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Tennessee.
But not OU or Oklahoma State. Not yet.
I get stuck on the OU-and-OSU part of this story because it makes no sense. Why would a four-star Oklahoma athlete like Adams not be a high-priority figure at each of the OU/OSU schools?
If you’re familiar with OU’s personnel but haven’t seen Adams play, he is built like Drake Stoops was built during his high school run at Norman North.
Adams is 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. Too small, you might say? Adams is taller than either of Bixby’s Presley brothers — the last two Oklahoma players of the year. Adams is the same size today that Odell Beckham Jr. was as a high school athlete.
Stoops is an outstanding receiver with nice football speed. Adams is a brilliant player with phenomenal hands, unteachable instincts and track speed.
The next three months will be eventful. In May, Adams competes in postseason track meets and participates in spring football. After that, he’ll take five official recruiting visits. He has not decided on the five destinations.
Preseason football practice begins in early August. Owasso opens the season with a blockbuster — a late August home clash against Bixby.
At some point before the Bixby game, Adams intends to announce his commitment. He plans to graduate from Owasso High School in December, be on a college campus in January and run on Power Five turf during 2023 spring practice.
In January, Adams recalls, “I got a text from Bill Blankenship saying that (two Alabama staff members) were going to start hitting me up. I prayed about it. I thanked God for it. When I heard about that, I was just blown away.
“I had some big offers before that ... but when Alabama hit me up — Nick Saban and those guys are legends down there.”
Adams recited a stat: Within Alabama’s past nine graduating classes, each player left with a national championship ring.
“I’m loving the recruiting process,” Adams said. “It’s new to me and my family. (There are) a lot of mentors around me and coaches helping me through the process.”
This week, Adams did make an unofficial visit to OU and posed for photos while wearing Sooner colors. Still, there has been no official offer from Brent Venables.
“This upcoming spring ball,” Adams reported, “(OU) is coming out to watch me, as well as Alabama, Arkansas and those other schools.”
Cole Adams is the younger brother of former Rams star Dawson Adams and the twin brother of Jake Adams, Owasso’s kicker. Their mom is Kristi Adams, a former Webster athlete who now teaches in the Owasso school system.
Their dad is Mike Adams, a former football and track star at Memorial and at Northeastern State in Tahlequah. Mike was an undrafted rookie defensive back with the 1988 Dallas Cowboys (the final Tom Landry-coached Cowboys team). On a daily basis, Adams’ coverage assignment was to shadow another Cowboy rookie — wide receiver Michael Irvin. Mike Adams played in two preseason games and survived the first two cuts during that training camp, but not the third.
During the 2022 season, there won’t be any diminishing of the star power that defined Tulsa-area high school football during the past decade.
Booker T. Washington’s Micah Tease is a fantastic two-way performer. As Bixby shifts to Class 6AI after having been the seven-time 6AII champion, twin brothers Luke and Dylan Hasz are still on the Spartans’ roster. As a ninth-grader last season, Shaker Reisig quarterbacked Jenks to the 6AI championship.
Cole Adams’ talent can be explained pretty easily: An Alabama assistant spent his Wednesday in Owasso, and Adams was 100% of the reason why.
The versatile Adams is a Dillon Stoner type who impacts winning in every possible way. He has scored touchdowns on receptions, on run plays, on kickoff returns and on punt returns. As a lefty with a nice release, he has thrown a touchdown pass.
As the holder on extra-point kicks, Adams has collected the snap and rolled to either side for two-point conversions. He has blocked a punt. During the fourth quarter of a close game, he’s in the defensive backfield.
In Owasso’s 41-40 upset loss at Broken Arrow in a 6AI quarterfinal last season, Adams’ stunning performance included two kickoff-return touchdowns and a 42-yard TD reception. He also popped a 75-yard punt return, but that play was wiped out because of a penalty.
For the Rams’ track program, Adams runs the 100 meters (with a 10.65-second personal best) and the 200. He is a member of the 4-by-100 and 4-by-200 relay teams. An athlete’s speed isn’t considered elite unless there’s been a sub-seven-second sprint in the 60 meters, and Adams has done that.
Blankenship’s assessment: “Cole is definitely in the conversation of the best I’ve coached (at the high school level).”
Why would OU and OSU coaches allow Alabama to outwork them for an in-state playmaker who has a 3.63 grade point average and serves as a mentor for Special Olympics athletes?
I consider Cole Adams a can’t-miss guy at the next level, but don’t take my word for it. Arkansas’ Sam Pittman and Alabama’s Nick Saban seem anxious to coach him.
By dragging their feet, the Sooners and Cowboys seem to have given Alabama a head start in the relationship game.
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