#21 Kendall Adams

Redshirt Senior | 6-1 | 228 lbs. | Fort Worth, Texas

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Defensive Back
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Starter
• Status: On Scholarship

Kendall Tyler-Jacob Adams (b. Aug. 28, 1995) is an athletic, veteran safety who has started 28 career games. He will provide leadership in the secondary, as well as the entire team, as he tries to recover from a season-ending injury and conclude his career on a high note.

After redshirting in 2014, Adams appeared in 12 games in 2015 with five starts, including starts in each of the final four games of the season. He recovered an onside kick at Texas Tech, the first by a Wildcat since 2008.

Adams recorded 41 tackles — including 30 in the final four games — with 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack; carded a career-high 12 tackles against Iowa State, which featured his first career sack; and also had 1.5 tackles for loss at Kansas.

He started all 13 games in 2016, ranking fifth on the team with 62 tackles, and also picked off two passes and broke up another.

Adams tallied 25 of his tackles during the final four contests (6.25 per game). He recorded a season-high 11 tackles at Oklahoma, one shy of his career high, and collected seven tackles and an interception against Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl.

Adams also registered seven tackles against Texas Tech and Baylor, as well as six against Kansas. He picked off his first career pass against Florida Atlantic and recovered a fumble at West Virginia that helped to halt a potential Mountaineers scoring drive.

Adams started 10 games in 2017 before an injury cut his campaign short in the 11th game of the year, yet he still finished fourth on the team in tackles with 63 stops to go along with a tackle for loss.

He carded three picks on the year to rank fifth in the Big 12 in interceptions per game (0.3).

Adams returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown and a fumble 46 yards for a score against Charlotte en route to Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.

He became the first Wildcat with both a pick-six and a fumble recovery score in the same game since Dyshod Carter did it against Missouri in 1999, while he was just the third Big 12 player to accomplish the feat (Texas Tech’s Paul McClendon vs. North Texas in 2001).

Adams also tallied at least eight tackles on four occasions, including a season-high 11 stops against West Virginia that included a career-high tying two passes defended.

He had eight tackles and a tackle for loss against Baylor, which included his second interception of the season, and also had a pick against Oklahoma State.

Adams will enter 2018 as a preseason All-Big 12 honoree, along with Dalton Risner.

He lettered three years for All Saints Episcopal High School under head coach Aaron Beck, including his senior year, in which he earned All-Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) honors and helped to win a state championship.

Adams was rated the nation’s 67th-best safety by Scout after he also helped the Saints to win a state championship as a junior, and he registered 226 total tackles and 10 interceptions in his prep career.

He also totaled 1,491 career receiving yards and 21 touchdowns on 86 receptions during his high school career, including his senior season, in which he hauled in 47 receptions for 981 yards and 14 scores.

Adams also lettered in basketball, earning first-team All-SPC honors two times. He also was a strong student who was selected to the National Society of High School Scholars.