Here’s how Temple athletics wrote the ‘script’ in the legacy of this father and son duo

Not many families can say Temple means more to them than the Adams family.

When James Adams first stepped foot on the university’s campus in North Philadelphia in 1981, he was just a kid trying to make a name for himself on Temple’s baseball team.

Adams was a hot commodity in college baseball as a left-handed pitcher. He walked on to the since-discontinued team, and manager Skip Wilson found a place for him in the team’s bullpen. Now, he walks campus as a member of Temple’s security force, and his son, John Adams, is a wide receiver on the Owls’ football team.

“I couldn’t script this any better, could you?” James Adams said. “Back in 1981, I had no clue that this [would] develop into this story. If you told me that back in ’81 that I was going to have a son that would play football at Temple and all the other stuff that’s happened, I mean, come on. There’s no way that I would believe you.”

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John Adams walked on to Temple’s football team in 2021 as a speedy but unpolished wide receiver from Deptford High School in South Jersey. He impressed enough people to stick around the following two years and play an important role on special teams. On Oct. 7, 2023, he had his statement game against Texas-San Antonio, with 10 catches, 127 yards, and a touchdown.

James’ Temple legacy goes much deeper. After his 1986 graduation, he worked as an on-campus security guard. A decade later, he became an officer for Temple’s police department. Now, he’s back in his role as a security guard. But he finds more joy watching his son take the field for the Owls.

In September, the elder Adams was chosen as an honorary captain for the Owls’ home opener against Coastal Carolina. He took the field for the coin toss and shared time on the sideline with his son, who scored a second-quarter touchdown in the 28-20 loss.

“I’m glad they recognized his hard work because that’s really where I get my hard work from,” John Adams said. “He was living his dream, and to see how happy he was, to see me on the field with him, it was only right for me to get a touchdown that game, too. It was just a dream come true and a blessing.”

John credits his dad for being there during the toughest moments of his life. John broke his leg at the tail end of last season and thought about quitting football. But it was his dad who kept him going, he said.

“I was actually about to stop playing,” the younger Adams said. “But my mom and my dad continued to keep my mind straight and just remind me how much I really loved this game. I was in dark moments and dark times, but I feel as though that injury made me into a stronger man.”

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Adams worked his way back into the receiver rotation this season. Before the Owls’ opening game, then-head coach Stan Drayton reached out to Adams’ parents to tell them that John was going to receive a full scholarship and asked them to record a video to show their son at one of the team’s last practices of the offseason.

John watched the video before his entire team and immediately teared up. He spoke to his teammates after it ended, thanking them for treating him like family. But it’s his dad who gets the most credit every time he accomplishes something new, he said.

“My parents instilled in me to always be ready and to never get pressured in big moments,” John Adams said. “[James] has been a big part of my life and growing up. He played a big role in where I’m at now, and he knows how much I love him and I know how much he loves me.”

However, James Adams also said he will always be the first to be real with his son. When John graduated high school, he had to decide whether to become the focal point of a Division II offense or try to succeed in Division I as a walk-on. Though his dad suggested that John consider D-II, John’s list started and ended with Temple because of his dad’s history there.

“I was trying to convince him to go to a Division II college so he could go and play right away,” James Adams said. “But he told me, ‘No, Dad, my heart is set on Temple.’ Well, he got a tryout and they liked his speed; he ran a 4.4[-second] 40[-yard dash], and the rest is history. I was worried he might not get a shot to play for Temple, but he just grinded. I’m proud of him.”

Both James and John know it is rare for Division I football players to be so connected with their family on a daily basis. James has traveled to every road game during John’s career and lives just five minutes from campus. He regularly meets up with his son during the week.

For his part, John says he loves having his father so close and available to provide guidance.

“Remember the guy who invented the light bulb?” James Adams said. “He tried for years and years and years, and then, boom, it came to fruition. That’s how I feel [about] me and my son. Back in 1981, I had no idea this was going to happen. If you believe in yourself and you have support, good things happen. I’m a living testimony that these things do happen to good people.”

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