Anthony Adams
{{Short description|American television host, actor and comedian}}
{{other people}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| image = Anthony Adams.jpg
| caption = Adams with the 49ers in 2005
| number = 91, 95
| position = Defensive tackle
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|6|18}}
| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lbs = 310
| high_school = King (Detroit)
| college = Penn State (1998–2002)
| draftyear = 2003
| draftround = 2
| draftpick = 57
| pastteams =
- San Francisco 49ers ({{NFL Year|2003}}–{{NFL Year|2006}})
- Chicago Bears ({{NFL Year|2007}}–{{NFL Year|2011}})
| highlights =
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 278
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 10.5
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 = 3
| pfr = AdamAn20
}}
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
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.{{cite web|last=Rice|first=Jeff|url=https://247sports.com/college/penn-state/Article/Former-Penn-State-defensive-tackle-Anthony-Adams-brought-spice-and-skills-to-squad-46255902/|title=Top 50 of 2000s: No. 25|publisher=247Sports|date=July 15, 2016|access-date=October 10, 2019}}
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. 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.{{cite news|last=Rudel|first=Neil|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37002028/|title=Lions take huge step back|newspaper=Public Opinion|via=Newspapers.com|date=January 2, 2003|access-date=October 10, 2019}}
Adams graduated with a business degree in 2003.{{cite web|last=Pryor|first=Maddy|url=https://news.psu.edu/story/494625/2017/11/15/athletics/comedy-helping-former-nittany-lion-make-name-himself-outside|title=Comedy helping former Nittany Lion make a name for himself outside of football|publisher=Penn State News|date=November 15, 2017|access-date=October 10, 2019}}
Professional career
=Pre-draft=
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 5
| height in = 11 5/8
| weight = 299
| dash = 5.13
| ten split = 1.78
| twenty split = 2.92
| shuttle = 4.59
| cone drill = 7.68
| vertical = 30.5
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 1
| wonderlic =
| arm span = 31 1/2
| hand span = 9
| note = All values from NFL Combine{{Cite web |url=http://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=59099&DraftYear=2003 |title=2003 NFL Draft Scout Anthony Adams College Football Profile |access-date=June 13, 2023 |website=DraftScout.com}}
}}
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/ncf/2003seniorbowl/rosters.html|title=2003 Senior Bowl rosters|work=ESPN.com|date=January 16, 2003|access-date=October 10, 2019}}
=San Francisco 49ers=
The San Francisco 49ers selected Adams in the second round (57th overall) of the 2003 NFL draft;{{Cite web |title=2003 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2003/draft.htm |access-date=March 28, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36999687/|title=Harris slips down to happy Niners|agency=AP|newspaper=Tulare Advance-Register|via=Newspapers.com|date=April 28, 2003|access-date=October 10, 2019}}
File:Anthony Adams and Jamar Williams.jpg 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=
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."{{cite web|last=Mayer|first=Larry|url=http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=3211|title=Bears ink free agent Adams|publisher=Chicago Bears|date=March 25, 2007|access-date=October 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070331195841/http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=3211|archive-date=March 31, 2007}} 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.{{cite web|last=Florio|first=Mike|url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/26/bears-bounce-anthony-adams/|title=Bears bounce Anthony Adams|publisher=Profootballtalk.com|date=February 26, 2012|access-date=October 10, 2019}}
He announced his retirement via YouTube on March 24, 2013.{{cite web|author=Inman, Cam|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_22861237/former-49ers-lineman-anthony-adams-retires-via-youtube|title=Former 49ers lineman Anthony Adams retires via YouTube|work=San Jose Mercury News|date=March 25, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Jensen |first=Sean |url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2013/03/anthony_adams_files_retirement.html |title=Anthony Adams files retirement papers |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |date=March 23, 2013 |access-date=March 23, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325102014/http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2013/03/anthony_adams_files_retirement.html |archive-date=March 25, 2013 }} In nine seasons, he served primarily as a depth player, starting at least eight games in three years.{{cite web|last=Pompei|first=Dan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/970250/2019/05/12/how-former-bears-nfl-role-player-anthony-spice-adams-became-a-social-media-sensation/|title=How former NFL role player Anthony 'Spice' Adams became a social media sensation|publisher=The Athletic|date=May 12, 2019|access-date=October 10, 2019}} {{subscription required}} He ended his career with 278 tackles and 10.5 sacks.{{cite news|last=Hockensmith|first=Dan|url=https://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2013/08/former_penn_state_dt_anthony_s.html|title=Former Penn State DT Anthony 'Spice' Adams releases second parody video about pork|newspaper=The Patriot-News|date=August 26, 2013|access-date=October 10, 2019}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend |
| Bold
| Career high |
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team !colspan="2"| Games !colspan="5"| Tackles !colspan="5"| Interceptions !colspan="4"| 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 | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| | 121 | 74 | 278 | 214 | 64 | 10.5 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
=Playoffs=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team !colspan="2"| Games !colspan="5"| Tackles !colspan="5"| Interceptions !colspan="4"| 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 | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Personal life
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". Adams was voted "Mama's Boy" his senior year at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit. 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.{{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoXw17yIevI | title = Stuff NFL Free Agents Say| website = YouTube}} On May 5, 2013, Adams earned his master's degree in Business Administration from George Washington University.
=Community involvement=
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
During his tenure with the 49ers, Adams was a blogger and hosted an online show with teammate Mike Adams called The Adams Report.{{cite news|last=Haugh|first=David|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-11-11-0711100527-story.html|title=Women in his life gems, solid as rocks|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=November 11, 2007|access-date=October 10, 2019}}
Starting on September 14, 2013, Adams began hosting a weekly half-hour show titled Inside the Bears, which airs on WFLD and WPWR-TV.{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/Former-Bear-Anthony-Adams-hosting-new-magazine-show/754b0a0d-888b-476e-bb72-67dd14294771 |title=Former Bear Anthony Adams hosting new magazine show |last=Mayer |first=Larry |date=July 17, 2013 |publisher=Chicago Bears |access-date=July 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721054209/http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/Former-Bear-Anthony-Adams-hosting-new-magazine-show/754b0a0d-888b-476e-bb72-67dd14294771 |archive-date=July 21, 2013 |url-status=dead}}
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.{{cite news|last1=Barney|first1=Chuck|title=Ayesha Curry lands another big TV gig — this time with ABC|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/21/ayesha-curry-lands-another-big-tv-gig-this-time-with-abc/|access-date=October 13, 2017|work=The Mercury News|publisher=Bay Area News Group|date=September 21, 2017|quote=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.}}
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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/sports/football/anthony-spice-adams-ahaha.html|title=Memes Made Spice Adams More Famous Than the N.F.L. Could|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 24, 2019|last1=Goble|first1=Corban}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons}}
- {{Twitter|spiceadams}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120401202118/http://www.chicagobears.com/team/player.asp?player_id=109 Chicago Bears bio]
{{49ers2003DraftPicks |state=autocollapse}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Anthony}}
Category:American football defensive tackles
Category:Chicago Bears players
Category:Penn State Nittany Lions football players
Category:Players of American football from Detroit
Category:San Francisco 49ers players
Category:Internet memes introduced in 2018
Category:American television hosts