2016 OT Zach Adams Builds on Lengthy Relationship with Stacy Searels, Hopes for Hokies Offer

2016 OT Zach Adams of Fredericksburg's Riverbend HS hasn't just known Tech offensive line coach Stacy Searels longer than he's been with the Hokies; he's known Searels longer than some players have been on the team.

Adams hails from Texas originally, and as he was dipping his toe in the recruiting waters, he had plenty of chances to encounter Searels when he still stalked the sideline for the Texas Longhorns.

"I've camped with Coach Searels for the past three years, two at Texas and one at Tech," Adams said. "I've really enjoyed getting to know him."

That familiarity and Adams' status as an in-state recruit mean that he's gotten plenty of attention from the Hokies so far in the process. Tech has yet to officially make him an offer, but they still invited the rising senior down to Blacksburg for a look at spring practice last Saturday.

"It was my first time really touring campus, and I loved it," Adams said. "I got to watch practice and hang out with Coach Searels and Coach (Bud) Foster a lot."

While the coaches admitted in a meeting to cap off the visit that they weren't yet ready to offer him, Adams says he's eagerly eyeing the program if they should extend a scholarship his way.

"I'd love to play there, it's definitely been on my mind," Adams said.

It would seem that his favorable impression of Searels already has Adams envisioning what it would be like to learn under him someday.

"He expects perfect effort," Adams said. "Even if you're making a mistake, he just wants you to go full speed and hit somebody."

Adams says he's put in a great deal of effort over the last few years to make sure that when he does hit someone, they're well aware of his presence.

"I've gotten a lot stronger over the past year," Adams said. "I'm up about 20 pounds from a year ago."

According to Adams, that weight gain has him fluctuating between 305 and 310 pounds to go along with his 6"7" frame.

Adams' coach at Riverbend, Tony DeMarco, has witnessed the transformation firsthand.

"He just benched 300 pounds, that's up 100 pounds for him over the last two years," DeMarco said. "And he's doing this as a guy with really long arms. He probably has a wingspan of 6'10", 6'11", so he's got an extra foot to go when he's benching."

With that kind of combination of size and strength, it's no wonder that Adams says coaches project him as a tackle at the next level, Searels included.

"I've known him since middle school, and it's always been clear he was going to be a left tackle," DeMarco said.

That's the role he's often played at Riverbend, and DeMarco says he excels at protecting the blind side.

"He's a really excellent pass protector," DeMarco said. "His strength is definitely the pass, but he's athletic enough to get out there and run block downfield."

DeMarco notes that athleticism means he's often trailing running plays all the way down the field, even if it gets him in trouble sometimes.

"He had 10 holding penalties last year, but so many of them were all the way down the field," DeMarco said. "He had one that was 40 yards down the field, how often do you see that? He just has the athletic ability to spring guys for touchdowns with the way he can run."

But DeMarco thinks Adams still has some room to work on finishing his blocks, no matter how far downfield he goes to make them.

"He needs to finish better, coaches want to see pancakes," DeMarco said. "He knows he needs to improve on that, he's had plenty of coaches tell him that."

Yet Adams believes coaches aren't just evaluating what he does on the field.

"It's what I do off the field as well, I'm a really loyal guy and I have good grades, I think that's a big factor too," Adams said.

So far, his combination of character and athletic capability has only enticed one school to offer him. UVA is the only program to take the plunge and offer Adams, but he spent the day on Tennessee's campus Tuesday, and is hearing plenty from West Virginia and N.C. State as well.

But despite getting some interest from other big programs, Adams is anxiously hoping his next visit to Tech can get him the offer from the Hokies he so dearly desires.

"I'll be coming down for camp this summer on June 14th," Adams said. "They say they really want to see what I can do there, and then maybe an offer will come."