It didn’t take the Northern State University football team long to find out what everyone in the Green Bay area already knew: Jake Adams is a tackling machine.
The former Pulaski linebacker is three games into his junior season and already has made Northern State program history, becoming the school’s all-time leading tackler in its NCAA Division II era.
The 6-foot, 235-pound Adams had nine total tackles in a 31-10 win over Concordia-St Paul on Sept. 20. He has 256 career stops, breaking the previous record of 254 by Logan Dosch from 2009 to 2013.
“It means a lot to me,” Adams said. “It’s hard to put into words kind of how it feels. It’s a really surreal feeling, like knowing I got this milestone, this accomplishment, this early into my junior year.
“It’s a huge accomplishment. I’m super excited for it. But I want to keep adding on to it and just keep working past it.”
Injuries open door for Jake Adams early in his college career
Adams arrived in Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 2023 as an unknown freshman hoping to earn playing time and make an impact.
He was listed fifth or sixth on the depth chart at middle linebacker, but a few injuries during the season gave him an opportunity.
He took it and never looked back.
Adams finished his first season ranked second on the team with 64 tackles and added two interceptions.
He made 17 tackles in a game against Northern Michigan. He returned an interception for a touchdown against Wayne State. He had 10 or more tackles in three of his final four games.
Adams didn’t miss a beat from his high school days, when he was a three-year starter and three-time all-conference selection in the Fox River Classic for Pulaski.
“Yeah, he was a special kid when he was here,” Pulaski coach Jerad Marsh said. “He just had a natural ability to find a football.
“He was a really neat kid to be able to coach and be part of the program. Just a really nice kid, worked his tail off in the weight room. Loved playing football.”
Adams had a total breakout as a sophomore in 2024.
He ranked second in the nation in DII with 147 tackles, averaging 13.4 per contest. Adams shattered the program’s previous record for tackles in a season after Steve Espinoza recorded 111 in 2004.
Adams started all 11 games and had 10 or more tackles in seven of them. It included 20 each against Minot State and Bemidji State.
He earned several postseason honors, including being named first-team All-American by the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association.
“It’s definitely a little bit of a process to get acclimated,” Adams said. “When I first started playing here, I was just on special teams for the first probably four or five weeks before I even started playing linebacker and mixing in with the rotation.
“I would say doing the special teams and using those first few games to get acclimated really helped me get used to the game speed when I finally started being rotated in at linebacker.”
Jake Adams is meeting high expectations this season
Adams entered this season with the highest expectations of his career, including being named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference preseason defensive player of the year for the North Division.
He has not disappointed.
Adams had registered 46 total tackles, one sack and one interception in the first three games entering a Sept. 27 contest against UMary.
He is fourth in the nation in DII in total tackles, but the three players ahead of him have all played one more game. He leads all DII linebackers with 15.3 tackles a contest.
“I have run out of superlatives for Jake Adams, and he has two seasons left to play for the Wolves,” Northern State coach Mike Schmidt said after Adams was picked as the preseason defensive player of the year. “He is a great player, but he is such a great teammate, leader, student and overall person. He’s what you hope your own sons grow up to be like.
“He is a very humble and kind teammate but also plays with an edge when he steps within the white lines.”
Jake Adams excels despite not being heavily recruited
Adams’ college career has mirrored his prep one.
He broke into the starting lineup for the Red Raiders as a sophomore and developed into one of the best linebackers in the area.
In his first game as a starter, he had 15 total tackles and a sack. He had 15 tackles the following week against Kimberly and 10 against Appleton East.
Adams had 98 tackles his junior season and was a first-team all-conference pick in the FRCC.
He started his final prep campaign with at least seven total tackles in each of the first four games.
But in that fourth game against Bay Port, Adams badly injured his right ankle while playing running back and didn’t return until the final week of the regular season.
Northern State already had offered him a scholarship, but if there was going to be any serious interest from other schools, it never materialized after the injury.
“I don’t think it really hurt it all that much,” Adams said of the recruitment process. “Northern State was really my only offer at that point. I let them know about it and they were like, ‘Yup, totally fine. Heal up and get better.’ That was just showing that they wanted me regardless of what my injury was like my senior year.”
Adams committed to Northern State early in 2023. He was thankful for the opportunity, but a lack of other offers did nothing but motivate him.
“I think it was a huge chip on my shoulder,” Adams said. “I was getting interest from other schools, but really never having the follow through from those other schools. But I’m glad I ended up at Northern. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Perhaps that’s why, despite the possibility that Adams could transfer to a DI school for his senior season and make significant NIL money, he hasn’t even pondered it.
“Nope, that’s not something I think about whatsoever,” Adams said. “I want to be at Northern State. I want to be playing for Northern State.”
Northern State showed loyalty to him, and Adams is showing it back.
Pulaski had other standout players being recruited during his senior year, and Adams was overlooked at times.
He’s not overlooked now.
“He went to some of those camps and he tested out, and his testing numbers were really good,” Marsh said. “He has got a really excellent vertical. A very powerful kid. But he’s not terribly tall, and you hear it all the time. They have certain numbers they need to see to recruit a kid.
“He’s one of those guys that maybe didn’t have that special number, but he sure as heck was a special player.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Former Pulaski linebacker Jake Adams breaks Northern State University all-time tackle record
Reporting by Scott Venci, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
