Volume 5, No. 2

Adam Black

Adam Black has been recruited far longer than the last six months by the Texas A&M coaches. In fact, the Cypress Falls product was begged three years ago by schoolmates and the high school football coaching staff to give this football stuff a try.

After all, Black was tearing up the basketball court, smothering opponents with man-to-man defense and in-your-face pressure. It was the kind of press defense that required quick feet, swiveling hips and a lone wolf mentality… all tools a coverage cornerback needs, as well.

"He’s a heck of a basketball player for us," Cy Falls head football coach Wayne Hooks said. "The cover corner is the same thing as playing man-to-man basketball. That’s why we had no doubt he could play. We’d watch his basketball games and just say, ‘Good Lord, he’s going to be all over a receiver.’"

Black has been all over receivers since. In just two years of playing high school football, the 6-0, 175-pounder soared to elite status as one of the state’s most dominating corners. Along with Galveston Ball’s Lawrence Richardson, who signed with Arkansas, Black was regarded as one of the state’s top two corners and one of the top five cornerbacks in the country.

It’s no wonder Black became priority No. 1 for the Aggies as they looked to secure a top defensive back class on National Signing Day.

And, reciprocating like few recruits do, Black became the rock of the A&M recruiting class, often giving up his weekends to travel to Aggieland to help recruit other potential new Aggies into the fold.

"Adam Black, he’s a solid guy and could have gone anywhere," A&M coach R.C. Slocum said. "Part of the recruiting process that you hate to deal with is if he commits early, a lot of times he gets out of the hoopla and somehow is seen as less of a prospect. But I thought his family handled it with class and handled it very wisely. I’m really proud of him."

Black was a finalist for the Houston Touchdown Club’s Defensive Player of the Year award, rolling up six interceptions, 38 pass breakups and 97 solo tackles in two years of organized football.

While Black did play football in junior high, he concentrated on basketball and track during his first two years of high school. Then he made the jump to football, and Hooks said he knew immediately that Black was going to be a thoroughbred, or at least some kind of horse in the Cy Falls stable.

"He’s kind of like that cutting horse that does everything right," Hooks said. "He just lines up on people and covers them. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s got a lot going for him. And because he’s played only two years, I think he’s got the best of his football ahead of him."

Teams rarely threw to Black’s side during his senior season, with Hooks claiming just two passes were completed to any receiver covered by Black all season long.

Black really began to turn heads at the 7-on-7 passing tournament in College Station last summer, and his commitment to A&M seemed to kick-start the Aggies’ push to signing of the nation’s premier defensive back classes.

With the Aggies losing three starters in the secondary and aligned in a Big 12 Conference division that features pass-happy Oklahoma and now Texas Tech, Black’s playing time may be sooner than later.

"It’s going to surprise me if he doesn’t make it big-time," Hooks added. "It’s going to surprise me if he doesn’t play on Sundays. That’s four years down the road, but I’m serious."

List of Recruits - Table of Contents