It was just 10 years ago that Vernon Adams Jr. was skittering around the red turf at Roos Field at Eastern Washington University making a name for himself.
As the head mechanic of the Eagles’ high-powered offensive engine, Adams helped lead the Eagles to three consecutive Big Sky Conference championships and as many Football Championship Subdivision semifinal playoff appearances.
Adams was passing and running his way to earning the nickname of “Big Play V.A.” with highlight after highlight game both home and away.
He ruffled many an Eagle feather when after four years in Cheney — 2011 as a redshirt — when Adams decided to transfer to Pac-12 Oregon in hopes of a better professional presence.
It was the start of him embarking on the circuitous journey that has led to Adams where he is today.
That being the talk of the Canadian Football League as quarterback of the British Columbia Lions.
After a season-opening loss to Toronto, BC has won five in a row, including last week’s 35-20 victory over previously undefeated Saskatchewan. During the recent streak, Adams has been named the CFL’s top offensive player three out of the last four weeks.
At the heart of that run are passing numbers that have led to talk of him surpassing records set by legendary Doug Flutie in 1981. Flutie had what many consider the greatest season by a quarterback in CFL history when he threw for 6,619 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Adams is currently on pace for 6,300 passing yards in the regular season with potentially three playoff games. Only three other quarterbacks in CFL history have surpassed 6,000 passing yards in the 3-down league.
Perhaps, fueling Adams is the two-year contract extension he signed with the Lions back in February, affirming his status as the team’s top quarterback.
Pale in comparison to the $80 million multi-year deal signed by a former teammate, Cooper Kupp, Adams will still be well compensated by CFL standards in the $500K range for the next three years, up from 2023’s $340,000.
During that media event this past winter, Adams was adamant about his goals in the weeks and months ahead. “It’s Grey Cup or bust,” he said.
It just so happens Vancouver will host the “Super Bowl” for the CFL on Nov. 17 at BC Place, the Lions 55,000-seat downtown Vancouver home. Lions’ fans are buying in, too, as through mid-July the most expensive tickets — 25,000 seats worth in the stadium’s lower bowl — have already sold out.
“Everyone needs to be dialed in from day one,” Adams went on to say at the signing event. “I’m saying this at training camp, 18 games, sacrifice what you need to sacrifice.”
It’s been an interesting journey in professional football for Adams from point-A and back.
Arriving from Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, California, no top-tier schools showed interest in Adams. He made a verbal commitment to Portland State but flipped to Eastern on National Letter of Intent Day in 2011.
Despite his noteworthy college career both at Eastern and later at Oregon where he was a graduate transfer in 2015, Adams’ professional career was at one point a non-starter.
Passed up in the NFL draft, Adams had look-see’s with both Seattle and Washington but nothing more.
Ironically it was British Columbia in 2016 who was negotiating with Adams before his rights were traded to Montreal.
Once in the tight-knit CFL fraternity that has embraced so many former Eastern Eagles, Adams spent time both injured and battling on the depth chart as both a starter and back up.
He spent the first season and a half with the Alouettes before being dealt to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in August of 2017.
That stay in Regina lasted until early 2018 when Adams was dealt to Hamilton where he never played a game. Adams even sought a roster spot as a wide receiver but was ultimately released in June 2018.
It took less than a week before Adams returned to Montreal where he was at or near the top of the depth chart. He even beat out the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel who tried to resurrect his career in the CFL.
Adams journey came full-circle Aug. 31, 2022, when he was traded back to the Lions in exchange for a first-round pick in 2023. He would lead the Lions to the 2023 CFL’s Western Conference finals, losing to Winnipeg, 24-13.
A decade later the 31-year-old Adams is still performing some of that “Big Play V.A.” magic and still seeking that big championship ring.
— Paul Delaney is a Cheney Free Press reporter and can be reached at [email protected].
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