Corvallis – Former NFL player Blue Adams has been named secondary coach at Oregon State, Beaver head football coach Jonathan Smith announced Thursday. (First reported by BeaversEdge.com on Tuesday)

Adams most recently served two seasons as the secondary coach at the University of South Florida. He helped the Bulls to a pair of bowl games, including a victory in the 2017 Birmingham Bowl.

“Coach Adams is an excellent addition to our staff and his knowledge of our defensive scheme will make the transition seamless with our coaching staff and players,” Smith said. “He has a wealth of experience from coaching with some of the brightest head coaches and coordinators at the professional and college level. His background as a standout college and professional player will also resonate well with our current players and on the recruiting front.”

Adams played professionally in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons after being a seventh-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 2003. He also has experience as a player in the Canadian Football League and the former NFL Europe.

“The opportunity to join Beaver Nation is truly special,” Adams said. “My philosophy as a coach is to teach, motivate and inspire through my personal experiences as a player and coach at the highest levels.

“I’m a firm believer in maximizing each young man’s potential through sound technique and fundamentals; that philosophy meshes with what Coach Smith and his staff teach at Oregon State. I can’t wait to get acquainted with the excellent young men that are in the program and to hit the road recruiting, representing this great program and university.”

He began his coaching career at Purdue University in 2009-10 as a defensive graduate assistant before spending the 2010-11 seasons as a full time secondary coach at Northern Iowa. From 2012-15 he was an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins as the team’s safeties and defensive backs coach. He transitioned back to the college game in 2016 and for two seasons was West Virginia’s cornerbacks coach before moving to South Florida.

Adams is a 2003 graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a bachelor’s degree in criminology. He was a four-year letterman defensive back for the Bearcats and was selected to the Conference USA Second Team as a junior.

BLUE ADAMS

Appointment: Secondary

Education: Cincinnati, 2003 – bachelor's in criminal justice

Hometown: Miami, Florida

Bowl Games: 4 (coach), 3 (player)

FCS Playoffs: 2

Coaching History: 2017-18 South Florida, secondary; 2016-17 West Virginia, cornerbacks; 2012-15 Miami Dolphins, defensive backs/safeties; 2010-11 Northern Iowa, secondary; 2009-10 Purdue, Defensive Graduate Assistant

Adams' Notables:

7 – Bowl games as a student-athlete and coach

5 – NFL seasons as a player

4 – NFL seasons as an assistant coach

NFL Draft – 2003 Detroit Lions (7th round)