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The official student news site of Coppell High School

Coppell Student Media

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October 26, 2023

Adkins season off to DI start

Senior+defensive+back+Chris+Adkins+gets+ready+for+the+upcoming+play+against+Garland+High+School+on+Thursday+night.+Photo+by+Sandy+Iyer+
Senior defensive back Chris Adkins gets ready for the upcoming play against Garland High School on Thursday night. Photo by Sandy Iyer

By Annie Wen
Staff Writer

He unstraps his gloves and walks aimlessly for a few seconds. In front of his eyes everybody in the stands is up on their feet and roaring. He takes off his helmet and feels the familiar rush of relief.

He has done his job.

Senior defensive back Chris Adkins started playing football as a third grader in Coppell. The son of a former University of Oklahoma football player, he was exposed to the sport at a young age.

Adkins’ father, Kevin Adkins, won the 1985 national championship while playing with the Oklahoma Sooners and he later spent a brief amount of time with the Kansas City Chiefs as a long snapper before a career-ending injury in his third NFL game.

“My dad was my youth football coach,” Adkins said. “I started my first tackle football season in third grade. My dad played football all his life so he wanted me to start young.”

Kevin Adkins remembers the first time his son displayed a love of sports.

“He was crawling on the group and there was a ball in front of him,” Kevin said. “He touched it and ball was his first word. He’s always been about athletics and sports.”

Adkins’ first big leap in his football career came when he joined the CHS varsity team as a sophomore.

“I learned a lot from the older guys,” Adkins said. “I didn’t start my sophomore year, I was a backup but I played special teams and I got in a little bit at safety. I learned from [former Coppell players] David Busby, Jacob [Logan] and Brandon Rainbolt, they taught me how to play safety and how to act in practice and how to act with friends and teammates. It definitely helped me.”

Special teams coordinator Karl Pointer has coached Adkins since his freshman year and has witnessed his growth as not only a coach to him but also a mentor.

“Last year he really stepped in and became the player that we expected him to be,” Pointer said. “And this year he’s continuing that role and I’ve been very pleased with his progress.”

Entering the 2012 football season as a starter, Adkins started to build up his film, which would be crucial to the recruiting process and saw increased playing time. That season served as a major growing point for him, both as a player and a person.

“Last season was just so special,” Adkins said. “Not only because we went undefeated but also how we came together as a football team and as a town after everything happened with Jacob it was just so special to be apart of that and see everybody come together and succeed through all of that.”

Logan passed away in October after drowning at Possum Kingdom Lake. The Cowboys dedicated the rest of the season to Logan and went 11-1, advancing to the Class 5A area playoffs.

Adkins grew into a leading role and is currently a captain on the varsity team. He plays a key role in the team’s defensive line and leads by example.

“He’s a great player, I see him as a veteran,” senior safety Nick Hruby said. “He knows a lot of the position. Even though we’re the same age, he’s like a mentor to me.”

Adkins takes the lessons he learns on the field and through football and applies it to his life off the field.

“You can’t fail your classes and play on Friday nights so you have to take care of your business in the classroom,” Adkins said. “You can’t get in trouble with the law. You have to represent our program at all times, in the streets, in the school, everywhere.”

The results of his work ethic began to show when the calls from recruiters started coming in. Adkins now currently holds offers from Yale, Cornell and Harvard.

“They [the recruiters] started sending me letters,” Adkins said. “I sent them my film and started talking to them on the phone and it just gradually progressed until I got a call one morning from Yale and they offered me a spot on the team and then pretty soon after that Cornell did the same thing. The Ivy League schools are the most interested right now and behind that are Rice and Nevada, but I’m open to any of the opportunities.”

Pointer attributes Adkins’ appeal as a football player to his mental abilities in the game.

“He just has a good football I.Q,” Pointer said. “He understands the game and really understands downs and distance situations and that’s hard to find sometimes.”

Adkins’ parents have been riding shotgun throughout his football journey, from the Youth league to now Division I school offers.

“My parents have been really supportive,” Adkins said. “They try not to be too involved they just support me and try not to influence my decision very much. They want me to be happy and they want me to choose where I would fit best.”

Adkins’ mother, Elizabeth Adkins is more than just a mother to Adkins, she is also a support system and his biggest fan.

“He is a very smart kid,” Mrs. Adkins said. “He has opportunities to play for some schools that he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to play for if he didn’t make the grades that he does. He’s in a very good position and I’m so proud of him.”

With his senior season off to an ideal start, Adkins offers some words of wisdom to all the young boys striving for a chance to accomplish the same feat that he has.

“Work as hard as you can on the field and in the classroom,” Adkins said. “And if you’re not as successful as you want to be right now just keep pushing and keep fighting.

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