Joins Mack as second Bull taken in 2017 Draft, first pair selected in first five rounds since 2010.
Third-ever USF wide receiver taken in Draft, 27th USF Draft pick overall
TAMPA, APRIL 29, 2017 – USF season-record setting receiver Rodney Adams (St. Petersburg) was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft on Saturday.
Adams, the 170th pick overall in the draft, became the third-ever Bulls' wide receiver to be selected in the NFL Draft and joined teammate Marlon Mack, a fourth-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts, as the second Bull taken in the 2017 NFL Draft. Adams becomes the Bulls' highest selected wide receiver in the NFL Draft and the first taken since Carlton Mitchell was tabbed in the sixth round (177th pick overall) of the 2010 Draft by the Cleveland Browns. USF football saw its total of NFL Draft picks rise to 27 in 20 years of the program, 16 in the last seven Drafts.
Adams selection in the fifth round marked the first time USF has had two players selected in the first five rounds of the NFL Drafts since 2010. In that year, USF saw Jason Pierre-Paul taken in the first round (New York Giants), Nate Allen in the second (Philadelphia Eagles) and Jerome Murphy in the third (St. Louis Rams). Carlton Mitchell (6th round, Cleveland Browns) and George Selvie (7th round, St. Louis Rams) were also selected in that draft as the Bulls had a program-high five players selected.
A two-time all-conference selection, Adams twice set USF's season receiving yardage record recording 822 yards in both 2015 and 2016. He set USF's season receptions record with 67 in his senior campaign in 2016. Adams finished his career with 135 catches for 1,967 yards and 16 touchdowns, ranking second all-time in all three categories at USF.
Adams was also an explosive kick returner, earning all-conference honors in 2015 at the position with a 29.1 yards per return average. He finished his career fourth all-time on USF's career all-purpose yardage list with 3,459 yards and logged 24 total career touchdowns.
USF finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll with a school record 11 wins following the program's fifth-ever bowl victory in the Birmingham Bowl. The Bulls' 11-2 record marked the fifth-best winning percentage in FBS football in 2016 and one of just 11 teams to reach 11 wins. USF set nearly 40 team and individual records in 2016, including team records for total yards (6,650), rushing yards (3,714), touchdowns (77) and scoring (569). Junior quarterback Quinton Flowers was named the American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and led a school-record 10 players named to the all-conference team, six of which, including Flowers, will return in 2017.
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