Mississippi State has offered the defensive line coaching position to former North Carolina assistant Deke Adams

GenesPage247 has learned Joe Moorhead is moving quickly again to fill a sudden staff opening. This time, sources indicate that Mississippi State has secured Deke Adams for the vacant defensive line coach position. Steve Robertson has tracked this story and this morning received confirmation from a Mississippi State athletic official.

This is a very quick turnaround for Adams himself. Just two weeks ago he was announced as defensive line coach at Memphis, after two seasons at North Carolina where he served the same staff role for Larry Fedora. The Tarheel staff was let go following a tumultuous 2018 season.

Adams was in his second tour of coaching duty in Chapel Hill, where he had coached defensive line in 2012. This was after his three years with Fedora at Southern Mississippi. The ’12 Tarheels tied for the ACC Coastal Division title.

Since the 2013 season Adams is credited with coaching six players drafted into the NFL ranks, including the first pick of 2014 in all-American Jadaveon Clowney out of South Carolina. Teammate Kelcy Quarles was also an All-American for Adams in Columbia, and 2015 tackle Gerald Dixon Jr. played in the East-West Shrine Game.

Back in his first year at North Carolina, he developed Sylvester Adams into a first-round selection and All-American tackle.

In between his stints with Fedora, Adams spent the 2016 season coaching defensive line at East Carolina. This was after three years working under Steve Spurrier in the SEC, at South Carolina with bowl win teams in both 2013 and ’14.

Adams coached at his alma mater Southern Mississippi with Fedora from 2009-11. He made instant impact as a defensive line coach with the 2009 Golden Eagles defense finishing 18thin NCAA sacks, 24thin tackles for losses. Two years later Southern Miss won the Conference USA title with a defense that gave up only 113 rushing yards per game and 3.3 yards per carry. That team won eleven games and played in the Hawaii Bowl.

His coaching career began back in 1997 as defensive line mentor at Jacksonville State. Adams came back to the home state for four years in the junior college ranks at Pearl River C.C., beginning as linebackers coach and becoming co-coordinator and safeties coach before being named overall coordinator in 2001. He was also PRCC’s recruiting coordinator these years.

Adams spent the next four seasons at Ouchita Baptist as coordinator and defensive line coach. The next stop was at North Carolina A&T where mid-season he was elevated to defensive coordinator, a role he kept in 2007 while coaching both line and linebackers. He was linebackers coach and coordinator of player development at Louisiana-Monroe in 2008 before hooking up with Fedora for the first time in Hattiesburg.

A Meridian native, Adams enrolled at the Hattiesburg school and was a three-year letterman at linebacker. He holds a degree in psychology and sports administration with a masters earned in 1996. His wife, Alexis Hall, was a four-year letter winner and 1,000-point scorer at Southern Mississippi.

Moorhead is hiring Adams to take the job held this past season, and two before that under Dan Mullen, by Brian Baker. Baker was hired away Sunday by Alabama.

It has been a hectic late January for Moorhead. He had to replace two offensive assistants last week. Terry Richardson is taking over as running backs coach for Charles Huff, also hired away by Alabama; and Michael Johnson assumes the wide receivers coaching position left by Luke Getsy’s return to the NFL and Green Bay.

Hughes, hired in December, took the coaching roster spot of tight ends coach Mark Hudspeth who left to become a head coach again, this time at Austin Peay.

As important as restocking the position staff for his second Mississippi State spring, Moorhead is also evaluating a reportedly long list of applicants for the open head strength coach position. Anthony Pirolli also returned to the professional ranks, re-uniting with his former boss at Arizona, Bruce Arians, at Tampa Bay.

Moorhead and staff are out and about this week as they take advantage of these last chances to visit spring signing prospects, committed and uncommitted alike. The second NCAA signing period begins a week from Wednesday with Mississippi State expected to ink as many as nine more players for the 2019 roster.