The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has hired Alton “Junior” Adams to be its running backs coach, head coach Rodney Allison said Monday.
Adams replaces Aaron Harris, who left UTC last month after one season to coach tight ends at Delaware. Adams was an assistant at Montana State, his alma mater, for three seasons before that coaching staff, including head coach Mike Kramer, was let go last May.
“I think he’s a bright young coach that was a part of some very successful teams at Montana State,” Allison said. “When he came in for an interview, I was very impressed and I think he’ll be a good fit for us.”
Last fall, Adams coached wide receivers at Prosser (Wash.) High School, one of the top programs in the country. Prosser not only won the Class 2A state championship but also was rated the No. 19 team in the country by MaxPreps.com.
“I’m really excited about the chance to get back to coaching at this level,” Adams said. “I want to coach football, I have a passion for the game and I’ll coach anywhere.”
Adams has already coached against two Southern Conference teams, Furman and Appalachian State. In the 2006 Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, Montana State beat Furman in the first round and lost at Appalachian State in the quarterfinals.
Running back should be an area of strength for UTC next season with the duo of Erroll Wynn and Bryan Fitzgerald returning — they combined for 1,574 yards last season — and the addition of transfer Shaun Kermah. He rushed for eight touchdowns and more than 800 yards last season at Glendale (Calif.) Community College.
John Frierson is in his fifth year at the Times Free Press and fifth year covering University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics. The bulk of his time is spent covering Mocs football, but he also writes about women’s basketball and the big-picture issues and news involving the athletic department. A native of Athens, Ga., John grew up a few hundred yards from the University of Georgia campus. Instead of becoming a Bulldog he attended Ole ...
