Promising Columbia prospect works out for Jets
Published: April 10th, 2012 | Tags: 2012 pro days, Columbia, Jeff Adams, Marcellus Wiley, New York Jets, Sid Luckman
Hall of Fame quarterback Sid Luckman is (and might forever be) the most notable NFL player to ever come out of Columbia University. Luckman was a first-round pick in 1939 in just the fourth NFL draft ever held, and then led the Chicago Bears to four NFL championships between 1940 and 1946.
More recently, defensive end Marcellus Wiley was a second-round pick in 1997 by the Buffalo Bills. Wiley went on to play 10 seasons in the NFL.
Columbia hasn’t had a player drafted since Wiley in 1997, and offensive tackle Jeff Adams could break that streak in late April.
Adams — who did not participate in the NFL Scouting Combine — has held a variety of workouts in the time leading up to the draft. The Chicago native participated in Northwestern’s pro day on March 20, measuring in at 6-foot-6 and 308 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.13 and 5.22 seconds, had a 34 1/2-inch vertical jump and 9-foot-5 broad jump, ran a 4.20-second short shuttle and 7.31-second three-cone. He has 33 3/4-inch arms and performed 19 strength lifts of 225 pounds.
On March 20, Adams held another workout, this time at Columbia in New York City, where he worked out for a Jets scout and improved upon his bench press by performing 20 strength lifts.
On Monday, Adams had a private workout at the New York Jets’ facility, working out for offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo. Head coach Rex Ryan, offensive coordinator Tony Sparano and other Jets assistants watched Adams work out.
On the strength of these workouts, Adams might have gone from being a rookie free-agent pickup post-draft to becoming a sixth- or seventh-round draft pick in late April. He’s a big, tall project of a player who had an impressive workout while at Northwestern’s pro day.