Keith Adams Class: Junior Hometown: College Park, Ga. High School: Westlake Height / Weight: 5-11 / 220 Position: ILB Experience: 2VL

Adams Fact: First sophomore in Clemson history to earn first-team All-America honors
Fall 2000 Depth Chart Position: First-team weakside linebacker
Year Lettered: 1998, 1999
Years Started: 1998, 1999
Bowl Games: 1999 Peach Bowl vs. Mississippi State

Overview:
A top candidate for Butkus Award (top linebacker) and Bronko Nagurski Award (top defensive player) in the nation for 2000...son of former Boston/New England Patriots defensive lineman Julius Adams, who played 15 years in the NFL...preseason first-team All-American by seven different services for the 2000 season, including Football News, Sporting News, Lindy's, and Athlon...number-four ranking for the Butkus Award according to Sporting News...preseason national defensive player of the year according to Blue Ribbon College Football Preview and Lindy's... ranked as number-one outside linebacker in the nation by The Sporting News and Lindy's...NCAA leader in tackles for loss (35) and tackles (186) and ranked second in the nation in sacks last year (16)...named ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore...set Clemson record for sacks in a season with 16, the previous mark was 10.5 by Adrian Dingle, now with the San Diego Chargers...he broke that record by 57 percent...that is akin to hitting 110 home runs to break Mark McGuire's current home run record....set 10 Clemson defensive records last year, including single game record for tackles with 27 against South Carolina in the last regular season game...made incredible improvement from freshman year to sophomore year, he went from playing 176 snaps in the 1998 regular season to making 176 tackles in the 1999 regular season...went from 0 tackles for loss, to ACC record 35 as a sophomore...was productive as a freshman, averaging a team best one tackle for every 4.5 snaps...defensive MVP of the 1999 Tigers...can bench press 225 pounds, 35 times, best on the Clemson team...has a 422-pound bench press figure overall...a member of the LIFELINE, Clemson's football leadership organization...has 35 tackles and 16 sacks for his career, tops among active Tigers.

In 1999:
Most decorated sophomore football player in Clemson history...named first-team All-American by Football News, second-team by Associated Press, second-team by CBS Sportsline, second team by collegfootballnews.com, and third-team by Sporting News...only the fourth Clemson sophomore in history to earn All-America honors, just the third non-kicker...the others are William Perry and Anthony Simmons...winner of the Banks McFadden Award, which is given to the top college football player in South Carolina...won the triple crown of ACC defensive statistics, he was the top tackler and led in tackles for loss and quarterback sacks..first-team All-ACC by ACC Sportswriters and Football News...one of five finalists for National Defensive Player of the Year by Football News, he was in some high company for that award....also had a record four sacks and record six tackles for loss in the win over Duke...set Clemson season record for tackles for loss with 35, that was actually an ACC record, eight more than any other player in league history.....also tied Clemson record for consecutive games with a sack with five and he set record with most different games with a sack in a season with nine...set Clemson single season tackle record with 186, eight more than previous mark held by Anthony Simmons, now of the Seattle Seahawks...had at least one tackle for loss in every game, he joins Anthony Simmons on that short list...five-time ACC defensive lineman of the week, a Clemson record for player of the week selections in a season...had at least 10 tackles in every game and at least one tackle for loss in every contest...Named defensive MVP of the Peach Bowl against Mississippi State, he had 10 tackles, two for loss...a model of durability and consistency, he started every game and played 864 snaps, he rarely missed a play, only Robert Carswell had more among defensive players...named recipient of the team Iron Man Award on defense in 1999...made big impact on Clemson's win over Virginia with 16 tackles and four tackles for loss...followed that up with 17 tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage at Virginia Tech...had 19 tackles against Florida State, meaning he had 35 tackles against the nation's top two team...had 16 tackles, including five tackles for loss against North Carolina in game televised on ABC, he was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for that performance...had 14 tackles, four sacks and six tackles for loss in win over Duke....he was carried off the field by his teammates at the end of the third period when it was announced he had broken the Clemson single game sack and tackles for loss record...finished off the regular season with 27 tackles, his performance was "gross," according to defensive coordinator Reggie Herring...."he really had two more assists, but it was getting ridiculous," continued Herring.

In 1998:
Second-team inside linebacker in 1998 who made 45 tackles in 176 snaps...finished the season strong with 17 tackles over his last two games, 10 against Georgia Tech and seven against South Carolina...his 45 tackles ranked 10th on the team, even though he never started a game...averaged 16 snaps per game...had a tackle every 4.5 snaps from scrimmage on defense, third best on the Clemson team....second among freshmen in tackles, he trailed only starter Alex Ardley...had five tackles in just 19 snaps against Virginia Tech, he also caused a fumble...had seven tackles against Wake Forest, his high total over the first nine games of the season...played 68 snaps in the last two games combined after averaging 12 snaps a game for the first nine games of the season...saw more action than any other first-year freshman defensive player, only Akil Smith (OT) was in for more time among first-year freshmen on the team.

In High School:
Gained 841 yards rushing as a senior...had over 2,200 yards rushing in two years...finished his senior year with 109 tackles...tallied 113 tackles, six sacks, four caused fumbles, and three recovered fumbles as a junior...rushed for 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns on 150 carries as a junior...four-year starter who started 44 games in his career...region Offensive Player-of-the-Year...two-time team Offensive Player-of-the-Year...also played at inside linebacker in the Georgia/Florida All-Star game...in the game he tied for the second most tackles on the Georgia squad with six...selected as a Top 50 athlete in Georgia...also a track and wrestling letterman...state runner-up in wrestling...ran a 10.8 100m in track...good combination of speed and strength as he bench pressed 360 pounds...Forrest Davis Blue Chip selection...ranked as one of the top six linebackers in Georgia by the Atlanta Constitution..Southeastern Recruiting Alliance post-season All-American...All-Southeast Region selection as a linebacker by PrepStar....born Keith A. Adams on 11-22-79...played for Coach Dallas Allen at Westlake High School in Atlanta, GA....majoring in parks, recreation and tourism management.

Clemson Records set by Keith Adams in 1999
• Most Tackles in a game: 27 vs. South Carolina
• Most Sacks in a game: 4 vs. Duke
• Most Tackles for loss in a game: 6 vs. Duke
• Consecutive Games with a Sack: 5, 1999
• Most Tackles in a Season: 186
• Most Sacks in a season: 16
• Most Tackles for loss in season: 35
• Most games with at least one sack: 9
• Most Games with at least one tackle for loss: 12
• Most Selections as ACC Player of the Week: 5