Back to the Oregon Ducks Newsfeed

The Engine that Could: Vernon Adams and his leap of faith to the FBS

The countdown was officially six hours old by the time the news broke. However, it had been close to seven months since the first hint of an FCS-to-FBS transfer was tantalized before our eyes.

When word officially came down, a fan base rejoiced, rivals snarled, and a whole new precedent had been set – for scholars, for athletes, for those who were told they couldn’t, shouldn’t, and wouldn’t make it.

If it sounds a little fairy-taleish, that’s because it is. Vernon Adams has changed the game. Because he stands a mere 5’11" on a good day, dripping wet at 180 pounds, weighed down by the pressures of being the first, as well as the near-visible chip that resides on his shoulder.