Travelin' with Joe 2021, Part I: Of bison and bees: Oxford's Adams begins charge

Aug. 4—Editor's note: High school football practice started this week, and Anniston Star Sports Writer Joe Medley has begun his annual round of preseason visits to all 12 football-playing schools in Calhoun County. Check The Star's Facebook page for live interviews each weekday. His columns and fun facts will also appear on The Star's website, social-media platforms and in print editions.

OXFORD — Sam Adams wears a wristband that doubles as a theme for his first Oxford team: "into the storm."

It's all about bison.

What do bison and Yellow Jackets have in common? Mindset, Adams hopes.

"Most animals on the planet, if they're out grazing in the field and a storm comes up, will kind of huddle up and move away from it, and shy away from the competition and the adversity or whatever is coming their way," the first-year Oxford coach said. "By trying to avoid it, they end up spending more time in it.

"The bison, as the storm comes up, and it's sitting there in the field, it squares its shoulders up into the storm and charges through it and, by attacking the adversity, ends up coming out the other side of it a whole lot quicker."

Like bison, like bees.

Oxford has come through its offseason storm since Adams' March hiring. Highly touted prospects like defensive back/running back Trequon Fegans and his younger brothers were among 10 players who transferred.

Count offensive lineman Bradyn Joiner, who has several Division I offers, among three who followed five-time state champion coach Keith Etheredge to Auburn High School.

More storms loom, as Oxford looks to replace those stars and others, including quarterback Trey Higgins and wide receiver Roc Taylor.

Then comes a schedule that includes Class 7A state power Thompson, Pleasant Grove and Central-Phenix City.

Clouds loom beyond Oxford's Lamar Field. They usually pass from the visiting side over the home side, going west to east.

Adams' first Oxford team will square its shoulders on a new turf field while he and his staff square up in their temporary office, behind the south end zone. Storms and mobile homes don't go well together, but it's all about getting to the day when a new fieldhouse stands where the old one once stood.

The day will come for Oxford to match rich history with updated digs.

The day will come for a team with lots of new starters and a new coach, who cut his teeth as an assistant on three state-championship teams and through seven years as a head coach at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, to gain footing together.

The day will come. The question is, how soon?

It starts at a fundamental level, and therein lies another there.

"What we're trying to base everything off of right now, and a phrase we use a lot, is, master the things that require no talent," Adams said. "What we mean by that is our discipline level, how do we respond when things don't go our way, obviously things on the field like unforced or presnap/postwhistle penalties, and we always control the kind of effort we have and the kind of attitude we have."

That's not to say Oxford lacks talent. Adams' eyes light up when he talks about the arm talent of Sam Robertson and Kamari McClellan, who are battling to replace Higgins.

Mark it down, Adams says. Sophomore running back Jaydon Thomas will become a household name.

Safety Miguel Mitchell, a Vanderbilt commit who will also play some wide receiver this year, has a household name, thanks to heroics during Oxford's 2019 state-title run.

Please pardon Oxford's progress amid construction, but no one burst the same pipeline that produced so many players who moved on.

What's left behind is mostly new, however. It's as new as the black and cooling green turf pellets that find their way everywhere around Lamar Field these days, including the coaches' mobile-home conference room.

Adams envisions bison kicking up pellets as they charge.

"When we say 'into the storm,' that's what we're talking about," he said. "It's anticipating adversity coming our way and leaning into it and taking it head on and not trying to make any excuses."

Sports Writer Joe Medley: 256-235-3576. On Twitter: @jmedley_star.