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Anthony Adams

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For other people named Anthony Adams, see Anthony Adams (disambiguation).

Anthony Adams
refer to caption
Adams with the 49ers in 2005
No. 91, 95
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1980-06-18) June 18, 1980 (age 44)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school:King (Detroit)
College:Penn State (1998–2002)
NFL draft:2003 / round: 2 / pick: 57
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:278
Sacks:10.5
Forced fumbles:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Anthony "Spice" Adams (born June 18, 1980) is an American television host, actor, comedian, and former professional football player. He played as a defensive tackle for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, Adams was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2003 NFL draft, for whom he played four seasons, followed by the Chicago Bears from 2007 to 2011.

After his football career, Adams became involved in social media and television. He is a former co-host of The Great American Baking Show, the American adaptation of The Great British Bake Off.

Early life and college

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Adams attended Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School in Detroit, Michigan, and Pennsylvania State University. He played for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 1999 to 2002, being named to the academic all-Big Ten Conference team and honorable mention all-Big Ten.[1]

During his freshman year, he recorded four tackles in nine games, which increased to 36 tackles and a sack the following season. As a junior, he had 59 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and led the team in tackles-for-loss with 11. In his senior year, he had 67 tackles, two sacks, 13 tackles-for-loss, and four pass breakups.[1] The 2002 Nittany Lions entered the 2003 Capital One Bowl with the chance to record their first top-ten ranking since 1996, but lost to Auburn.[2]

Adams graduated with a business degree in 2003.[3]

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
5 ft 11+5⁄8 in
(1.82 m) 		299 lb
(136 kg) 		31+1⁄2 in
(0.80 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 5.13 s 1.78 s 2.92 s 4.59 s 7.68 s 30.5 in
(0.77 m)		 9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)
All values from NFL Combine[4]

Before the 2003 NFL draft, Adams participated in the Senior Bowl. Representing the North alongside four of his Penn State teammates, his team won 17–0.[5]

San Francisco 49ers

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The San Francisco 49ers selected Adams in the second round (57th overall) of the 2003 NFL draft;[6] the 49ers, who lost two starting defensive linemen during the offseason, drafted Adams and defensive end Andrew Williams in the following round to fill the gap.[7]

Adams and Jamar Williams taking the field in 2009

Adams became a free agent after the 2006 season, ending his 49ers tenure with 155 tackles and six sacks in 58 games.

Chicago Bears

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On March 25, 2007, he signed a four-year contract with the Chicago Bears; team writer Larry Mayer described Adams as "an undersized but quick tackle who seemingly is an ideal fit for the Bears' one-gap defense."[8] In 2010, he started all 16 games and the Bears' playoff games; at season's end, he was named a Brian Piccolo Award recipient. The following season, he only started four games and appeared in 11, and was released on February 26, 2012.[9]

He announced his retirement via YouTube on March 24, 2013.[10][11] In nine seasons, he served primarily as a depth player, starting at least eight games in three years.[12] He ended his career with 278 tackles and 10.5 sacks.[13]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2003 SFO 14 1 26 20 6 1.5 5 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
2004 SFO 14 12 48 41 7 0.0 6 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
2005 SFO 16 16 40 24 16 2.5 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2006 SFO 14 5 20 12 8 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2007 CHI 11 8 26 21 5 0.5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2008 CHI 9 4 21 14 7 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009 CHI 16 8 44 36 8 2.0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 0
2010 CHI 16 16 37 33 4 2.0 9 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0
2011 CHI 11 4 16 13 3 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 74 278 214 64 10.5 33 0 0 0 0 10 3 3 3 0

Playoffs

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2010 CHI 2 2 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 2 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Personal life

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Adams and his wife, Andenika, have four children. Teammates have bestowed several nicknames on Adams: Former 49ers teammate Bryant Young dubbed him "Double A" not only for his initials but also for his suspicion that Adams' extra energy came from batteries. His Penn State teammates nicknamed him "Spice".[14] Adams was voted "Mama's Boy" his senior year at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit.[14] He is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity and was initiated at Nu Chapter. In the summer of 2012, Adams produced a series of videos on YouTube about life as an NFL free agent.[15] On May 5, 2013, Adams earned his master's degree in Business Administration from George Washington University.

Community involvement

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Since 2006, Adams has been involved with Youthville, a program in his hometown of Detroit. He gave away two Super Bowl XL tickets to the student who demonstrated the greatest improvement in grade point average. In 2009, Adams visited several Chicago Public Schools to help students write letters to troops overseas during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Media career

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During his tenure with the 49ers, Adams was a blogger and hosted an online show with teammate Mike Adams called The Adams Report.[14]

Starting on September 14, 2013, Adams began hosting a weekly half-hour show titled Inside the Bears, which airs on WFLD and WPWR-TV.[16]

In 2016, Adams began a recurring role on the HBO series Ballers. He was announced on September 21, 2017, as one of the new hosts of The Great American Baking Show, an American adaptation of The Great British Bake Off, on ABC.[17]

Adams is well known for his Instagram account, where he posts comedic videos under the username "spiceadams". Many of the characters and skits he has created have gone viral since 2018; an example is his catchphrase "ahaha", which became the subject of multiple memes on Twitter, and a photo of him hiding behind a tree in a bright yellow suit while rubbing his hands together and licking his lips in an expression of desire for what he is looking at.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b Rice, Jeff (July 15, 2016). "Top 50 of 2000s: No. 25". 247Sports. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  2. ^ Rudel, Neil (January 2, 2003). "Lions take huge step back". Public Opinion. Retrieved October 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Pryor, Maddy (November 15, 2017). "Comedy helping former Nittany Lion make a name for himself outside of football". Penn State News. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  4. ^ "2003 NFL Draft Scout Anthony Adams College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  5. ^ "2003 Senior Bowl rosters". ESPN.com. January 16, 2003. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  6. ^ "2003 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  7. ^ "Harris slips down to happy Niners". Tulare Advance-Register. AP. April 28, 2003. Retrieved October 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Mayer, Larry (March 25, 2007). "Bears ink free agent Adams". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on March 31, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  9. ^ Florio, Mike (February 26, 2012). "Bears bounce Anthony Adams". Profootballtalk.com. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  10. ^ Inman, Cam (March 25, 2013). "Former 49ers lineman Anthony Adams retires via YouTube". San Jose Mercury News.
  11. ^ Jensen, Sean (March 23, 2013). "Anthony Adams files retirement papers". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on March 25, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  12. ^ Pompei, Dan (May 12, 2019). "How former NFL role player Anthony 'Spice' Adams became a social media sensation". The Athletic. Retrieved October 10, 2019. (subscription required)
  13. ^ Hockensmith, Dan (August 26, 2013). "Former Penn State DT Anthony 'Spice' Adams releases second parody video about pork". The Patriot-News. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  14. ^ a b c Haugh, David (November 11, 2007). "Women in his life gems, solid as rocks". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  15. ^ "Stuff NFL Free Agents Say". YouTube.
  16. ^ Mayer, Larry (July 17, 2013). "Former Bear Anthony Adams hosting new magazine show". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  17. ^ Barney, Chuck (September 21, 2017). "Ayesha Curry lands another big TV gig — this time with ABC". The Mercury News. Bay Area News Group. Retrieved October 13, 2017. Curry, the wife of Golden State Warriors all-star Steph Curry, will host the third season of the show along with former San Francisco 49er Anthony 'Spice' Adams.
  18. ^ Goble, Corban (October 24, 2019). "Memes Made Spice Adams More Famous Than the N.F.L. Could". The New York Times.
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