Walden Grove senior Adamski goes D-I at Drake
This is the first in a series of profiles of Arizona high school seniors that signed with four-year colleges. Here's the full list (currently totaling 246) of players from within the state moving on to the next level.
SPOTLIGHT: 2/6/21
National Signing Day this past Wednesday puts a close on pretty much all of the recruiting classes at the Division I level. For Sebastian Adamski, the euphoria of putting pen to paper happened several weeks ago in December during the early signing period.
And so, we'll take a look back at this throwback in every sense of the word. Adamski is a 6-foot, 230-pound linebacker at Walden Grove. He's a big hitter that plays the game with passion and is a leader for his Red Wolves' teammates. Respect for both his game on the field and as a student paid dividends for Drake University, where he will play his college football.
"They showed me love and support through the whole entire process," Adamski said in an e-mail interview. "(Head) Coach (Todd) Stepsis did a phenomenal job of explaining the life of an athlete, but most importantly, a student at Drake. Not only that I felt wanted and that I could make an impact as soon as I stepped on campus."
Adamski has been part of a group that took the next step for Walden Grove football. The school in Sahuarita played its first season in 2012 and hovered around the .500 mark for its first five years of existence (23-27) with no playoff appearances. The Red Wolves made the 4A postseason in three straight years from 2017-19. That was highlighted by Gila Region titles in '18 and '19.
"It was an honor to turn Walden into a powerhouse in 4A," Adamski said. "Being able to have a great team was such a blast and gave us the motivation to keep making history."
Heading into the 2020 season, one of the new ways to make history would be with the school's first playoff victory. But, that day wouldn't arrive.
Sahuarita, about 20 miles south of Tucson, fell in line with the rest of the public schools in Southern Arizona on holding off from football during the pandemic. Schools in the Valley along with a couple private ones in Tucson started on Oct. 2. It wasn't until Oct. 30 that WGHS was able to take the field. Just four weeks later, with COVID-19 numbers up, the district agreed with Pima County guidelines and shut down the rest of the season.
While Adamski worried about the possibility of losing the season entirely over the summer, he feels lucky that the team was able to play four games. The Red Wolves started 3-0 for the first time in school history and were 3-1 at the stoppage. Adamski tallied up 44 tackles, two forced fumbles, and even caught a touchdown pass last fall.
"Going into senior year, I had so many goals I wanted to reach and was mad that my season was short," Adamski said. "But I can't thank God enough for giving me the opportunity to show my skills one last time and be named Defensive Player of the Year for Tucson (by All Sports Tucson)."
The enthusiasm for Adamski has been there throughout his time in high school.
In addition to his accolades on the field (130 tackles in his junior year along with the region's DPOY honor), Adamski has also shown the attention in the classroom and made the Sports360AZ All-Academic Team last fall with a 4.0 GPA. He said academics were a big part of choosing where to attend school and took that into consideration among his other nine offers.
"The biggest goal I had was to be able to play football and get my college paid for," Adamski said. "Drake is a great academic school and has an excellent reputation. With attending the virtual visit and talking to professors at the school, I could tell they truly wanted me to be successful in life."
Adamski hasn't decided on a major yet. His two leading options for now are Law and Mechanical Engineering. Drake has one of the best law schools in the country and Adamski also enjoys working on cars and building things, so he has the aptitude in that area as well.
This is the second straight year that Walden Grove has had a player go Division I. Linebacker Rick Avelar signed with Dayton from the Class of 2020. Adamski is appreciative to reach this level.
"It's such a blessing to be able to be the second kid in school football history to receive a D-I offer," Adamski said. "This achievement taught me to always keep your head down and work hard and the sky's the limit."
As a throwback athlete, Adamski simply loves the game. That's one of the reasons he's been competing for Gaddis Gainz ELITE in 7-on-7 tournaments this winter. After having his padded football season end abruptly, he's having fun competing with GGE.
"It's a great way to help me with coverage and I still get to play the game I love," Adamski said. "Coach Cam (Gaddis) has created a great program and he has helped me become the player I am today. Most importantly, I get to meet so many new kids and get to make more friendships. I love to compete, so this is definitely great for me."
Drake, located in Des Moines, is in the Pioneer Football League, which will be playing a spring schedule. The Bulldogs will have a six-game slate beginning at home on March 13 against Marist (N.Y.). It will give schools a meaningful competitive experience as the fall games were canceled. Also, it will allow for a conference champion and an automatic qualifier for the FCS playoffs. The Bulldogs (6-5 in 2019) have four consecutive winning seasons and 14 over the last 15 seasons.
