ATHLETE PROFILE: Matt Adams
Over the weekend, the Tartan football team extended its current winning streak to three games with a win over Bethany College. The team’s record is now 5–4 with the final game of the season Saturday at Gesling Stadium.
After being named UAA Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time this season, senior punter Matt Adams sat down with The Tartan to talk about his season and about being a student athlete at Carnegie Mellon.
Tartan: When did you start playing football, and how did you get into it?
Adams: I just really loved football and I started playing in second grade. It was a youth tackle league, it was a travel team, and I was a little young to be playing, but I really wanted to play then.
T: Have you always been a punter?
A: I actually didn’t start punting until college. I had always played running back and middle linebacker, and then my freshman year here I played at running back and punted, and then after that year I switched to just punting.
T: Was football a part of your decision to come to Carnegie Mellon?
A: Actually, not so much. I was deciding between playing Division I lacrosse, or coming here for the academics, but I knew in coming here that I would be able to play both football and lacrosse.
T: How do you manage athletics and academics at Carnegie Mellon?
A: It’s actually a lot easier for me during season. I get better grades in season, and I really just know I have to be a lot more disciplined in getting work done.
T: Do you have any pre-game rituals?
A: I just like to get rested for a game. I think if I went a whole week without kicking I would probably have the best game of my life, but you can only rest so much before you actually get out of shape.
T: Do you have a favorite place to play?
A: I really like our stadium. It’s really nice, and the surface is always consistent and even, so planting the ball is never really an issue.
T: Do you have a most memorable game or accomplishment you’re particularly proud of?
A: This past season I got the punting record for the longest kick, a 70-yard punt, and then, [against] Washington, I had a really good kick that set us up for a safety on the next play, so it was really nice to have contributed in that sense.
T: Do you have a favorite place to travel and play?
A: Yes, definitely Chicago. It’s always a really fun trip.
T: What’s your favorite part of the off-season?
A: I play lacrosse during the off-season, and I have actually been a captain there for the past three years, so I’m actually even busier then. It’s a club sport, but we play on the national level, so it’s pretty intense.
T: What are your plans for after graduation?
A: I have a job offer in investment banking that I’ve accepted, but a lot of people have joked that I should train and go to NFL combines to try and punt. I don’t know if I actually could, but I think it would be really cool to try. I would be the first person from CMU to even go to the combines, so we’ll see.