Adams has much to prove
The body looks ready-made to repel NFL pass rushers, but it isn’t the only reason why the Steelers assumed the risk that came with drafting Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams.
Watch his face break into a grin at the mention of a struggling high school freshman he once mentored, and it offers a glimpse into the kind of character that the Steelers are gambling will ultimately prevail.
“Emmanuel Leath,” Adams said Friday after his first Steelers practice. “Now he’s working with kids, and to be able to make an impact in a young man’s life like that is special to me.”
Rookie minicamp concludes today at the team’s South Side facility, and five practices — in shorts, no less — won’t change Adams’ profile as the player with the most upside and baggage in the Steelers’ draft class.
The 6-foot-7, 323-pound Adams, perhaps not coincidentally, is rooming with first-round pick David DeCastro. The two became friends during pre-draft training in Arizona, but they also offer a study in contrast.
DeCastro, a guard, was considered one of the safest picks in the draft because of what he did on the field at Stanford — and what he didn’t do away from it. Adams, meanwhile, served a five-game suspension at the start of his senior season at Ohio State for accepting improper benefits. He also failed a drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, nearly torpedoing his lifelong dream of playing for the Steelers.
“I think step one is proving myself off the field because that’s where my issues have been,” said Adams, who worked at left tackle during rookie camp. “I haven’t had any issues on the field. To prove myself to the people in this organization, the people in this city, that’s what I’m here for.”
http://triblive.com/sports/1441963-85/story
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