There have been major changes to virtually every position group on the Temple roster, but the Owls' wide receivers have not been one of them.
Yes, the Owls did lose their leading receiver from 2023 in Amad Anderson Jr., but Dante Wright, Zae Baines and Ian Stewart have all returned. Add in Grambling State transfer Antonio Jones and USC track star addition Ashton Allen, and the wideouts room could be one of the deeper units on this year's team.
And that's not even including the return of walk-on John Adams, who was in the process of carving out a bigger role for himself last year before suffering a season-ending injury.
Adams, a redshirt-junior walk-on, played in 11 games in 2023 and caught 15 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. After catching just two passes in the first five games of the season, Adams exploded for 10 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown against UTSA. Unfortunately, the Deptford, New Jersey native later broke his leg on Nov. 18 at UAB.
Now healthy, Adams hopes to build some momentum this season. That goal starts with playing his role, he said.
“You know, just play my role, and whatever coach wants my role to be, I do it to my best ability,” Adams told reporters on Friday. “We have different assets to the team like Dante (Wright) and [Ian Stewart]. We have a lot of assets to the team in that room that can open up any defense at any time. So, you know, just listening to my coach and whatever he tells me to do, I’ll do it.”
Adams’ father worked at Temple and his brother was a student at the university, so Temple has been prominent in his life for a long time. And while Adams didn't spend much time around the campus growing up, he's grateful for the last four years he's spent on North Broad.
As a walk-on, it can already be difficult to get in a comfortable rhythm due to scholarship players receiving more consistent practice and playing time. To make matters more complicated, the Owls currently have a three-person quarterback battle between redshirt junior Rutgers transfer Evan Simon, redshirt junior Forrest Brock, and redshirt freshman Tyler Douglas, which can make the job of a wide receiver more difficult because they have to learn three different quarterback playstyles and tendencies.
Despite this, Adams is happy with all three guys and said it’s the wide receiver’s job to make the quarterback’s job easier.
“With them being mobile, you know, just playing that role,” Adams said. “You’ve got to make sure you get your eyes back around. He could be scrambling in the pocket, or he could be stepping up in the pocket, and you have to be quarterback friendly. That's what our wide receiver coach always says; to be quarterback friendly. To come back to the ball to make the throw right and stuff like that.”
Football can be as much of a mental game as it is a physical game and, after breaking his leg, Adams dealt with worrying that his availability for the 2024 season was in jeopardy. Through the guidance of his mother and his faith, however, he saw the bigger picture his injury provided.
“As soon as I got hurt, I had doubts,” Adams said. “But, you know, my mom always told me that God has a great plan for me, and he did because, in my eyes, getting hurt was not the best day for me but it was perfect timing because I'm back for the season. So, you know, I just took it day by day. My injury took a toll on me, but it helped me get better at certain things that I needed to get better at, and I focused on that more.”
Although Adams, who stands 6-foot-2-inches tall and weighs 190 pounds, doesn’t have a scholarship, he remains as confident as any player on Temple’s roster.
And for a Temple offense that will look a lot different this year, that confidence is needed.
Sometimes, it involves repeating that confidence out loud.
“I'm not a regular walk-on, so I have to treat myself like that,” Adams, a redshirt junior, said with a smile. “I'm not a regular walk-on. I hold myself accountable every day and I believe in myself 100%. And as long as I'm on that field, something’s going to happen, and that's how I go on that field. Once again, I’m not a regular walk-on.”