Corey Adams refers to himself as Arizona State's human "oxygen tank." When a defensive tackle needs a breather, out Adams trots, ready to relieve.
He chuckles at this, although he finds little humor in it. For the past two seasons, Adams, a former standout at Scottsdale Saguaro High, has failed to make a significant impact because of one injury after another.
First it was his back, which required surgery and cut short his freshman season. Then in this year's camp, Adams suffered a concussion. Not much later, just a week before ASU started preparing for its season opener, he felt his left knee pop during 1-on-1 drills. The 6-foot-3, 294-pound sophomore finished practice, but he went to bed that night thinking, "Please don't let it be a tear. I really don't need this. Please don't let it happen."
The next morning, as soon as Adams opened his eyes, he knew he had a problem. Hours later, he learned he had torn his meniscus, an injury he had suffered as a high school sophomore. For Adams, it was a minor victory simply because it meant he'd have to miss only a few weeks.
"You realize that at this point, if I get a bruise on my bicep, I'm thinking it's a tear," Adams said. "But yeah, it was a relief. If you're going to do something to your knee, you're hoping it's just the meniscus. It was depressing, but I tried to tell myself it could be worse."
Seven weeks later, as ASU prepares for Saturday's contest at Washington, Adams is back in the rotation, doing more than just providing his teammates a breather. Since returning from surgery Sept. 18 against Wisconsin, his snaps have increased each week. He got 17 against Oregon and 21 last Saturday against Oregon State.
"He's (bounced back) really well," ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. "He's starting to show up like we thought he would, so that's really a great deal for us. Not a surprise, but it's good to have him back healthy and playing, because now he has confidence in his health and he's letting it go."
Adams credits his family for helping him fight through adversity. He also credits his mindset. On the bottom of his left arm he has "Pain is temporary" tattooed in Japanese. On the right is "Pride is forever." It's something he had done after high school graduation, something that reminds him of the importance of perseverance. And that better days are ahead.
"The coaches tell me, 'This is a great opportunity to show what you can do,' " Adams said. "And I'm like, 'I know what I need to do. Just being able to do it is the problem.' It's extremely frustrating being semi-limited in what you can do."
His back still gets sore. His knee stiffens. But Adams insists he has greater concerns. He chose ASU over Ohio State, Nebraska and Southern California, among others. He grew up attending home games in Sun Devil Stadium. Losing three in a row, botching key opportunities, wasn't in his plans.
And yet, Adams remains encouraged.
"We have so much talent," he said. "The frustrating thing is we're hurting ourselves with little things. It's like one guy makes one mistake the whole game and it's a 50-yard touchdown. But our biggest motivator is ourselves. We just need to prove to everyone who we are and what we can do."
