INDIANAPOLIS – Hundreds of collegiate prospects are in Indianapolis for the NFL combine, ready to show organizations that they can make the jump to the professional level and contribute. In some cases, it's a chance for college coaches to show they can make the jump to coaching in the NFL, which is the case for new Cowboys wide receiver coach Junior Adams and offensive line coach Conor Riley.
Adams joins the ranks after spending three seasons coaching wide outs at Oregon, and Riley spent the last six years as the offensive coordinator at Kansas State. As they head into their first NFL offseason and first combine experience as coaches, the familiarity each of them have with the college landscape, and even some of the players, is a big help in the transition process.
"The cool part is I'm very familiar with a lot of these guys, especially at the receiver position," Adams said. "When I'm just walking through the hallways here, going to do the informals and the formals, I'm seeing some of these guys that I recruited and had good relationships with and some of them I've had to meet with. "
"It's actually pretty cool. It actually makes it my first time a little, again, the transition a little bit more smoother and a little more comfortable."
For Riley, the added insight of knowing the background on players that they're familiar with is a huge bonus in the evaluation process not just on the field, but off of it too.
"Whether you coach the guys, whether you competed against them or maybe even you recruited them and didn't get 'em, so you do have unique insight into their upbringing," Riley said.
"If you do have an existing relationship with a said player, I think that that just provides more information to get to our department so we can get a great evaluation on these young people."
During their time in college, a big part of the job as coaches is being able to recruit prospects to come to their respective universities. Now, the roles are somewhat reversed, as players meet with NFL staffs and try to sell themselves as fits in their scheme. Adams says that there's actually a lot similar between the two processes, despite them outcomes being different.
"I will say there's not too much difference, right? Even when you're recruiting in college, you still get to know them. You still want to connect with them," Adams said. You're still asking similar questions that you're asking these draft prospects as well to get to know them and dive into their why, and how much they know football and still getting to know them and connect."
Naturally, there are differences in the level of play that both players and coaches have to account for when going from college to the NFL. Although both Adams and Riley have yet to coach NFL players in Dallas, the tape and evaluation process has already helped them understand the differences between the two, and they've got more time to focus on coaching as well.
"Every play is a play, and each play is its own entity. And when it comes to just the overall player, I mean the game is a lot faster, right?" Adams said.
"And the scheme is a little bit, not taken away from college, but it's a little bit more detailed. You have a lot more time in your hand just to do football and just focus on football and not to do the recruiting part of it. So that transition has been smooth. Obviously every day is new for me, which is awesome, and I'm just looking forward to it."
With a strong history and focus on the offensive line, Riley sees the biggest difference between the college game and professional level along the defensive line.
"The first thing that you're going to notice is defensive personnel, and you're going to sit there and say, 'Okay, maybe in the college game one week they got that guy that you really got to be conscious of.'" Riley said.
"Well, in the NFL, everybody's got that guy and a lot of times they have multiple guys like that. So when you look at the differences between the speed and the physicality of the game, there's a significant difference" Riley said.
When the media first got to speak with Cowboys coordinators and assistant coaches, offensive coordinator Klayton Adams mentioned that he and Riley were as close as two coaches who hadn't worked together could be. Now, they are working together, and Riley is enjoying the experience.
"It's been an absolute privilege and a pleasure," Riley said. "He's not only a tremendous, tremendous football coach, but also just a tremendous guy to be around. That's the one thing that's really consistent with this staff is there are some great, great ball coaches, but even better men."
That applies to head coach Brian Schottenheimer as well, who has made a positive impression early on to the rest of his coaching staff as a leader in the combine setting.
"First things first, when it comes to Schotty, what jumps out to me is just the type of person he is," Adams said. "He's a really good person, he's super positive, he's really good with his words and how he's communicating. And to me, those are some really big important pieces to being a successful head coach. And he's all about connecting, and he is all about the people."
