Drew Adams: Touchdown King, Iowa

Drew Adams was the Mount Vernon quarterback from 2014-2017. Drew excelled in the sport, breaking many school records. He holds Iowa's record for the most touchdown passes in a career, with 106. He led the team to two UNI-Dome appearances. After leaving his mark on Mount Vernon, he will continue to pursue his football dream at Grand View University. Video created by Cooper Becthold, Nolan Brand, Garrett Hormann, Logan Kelly and Thomas Meineke.

Matt Thede: The guys is an animal. He's tough.

Lance Pederson: [0:09] Drew Adams is a competitor. He is a kid that wants to win in everything you do, whether it be ping pong or football or basketball, whatever he is involved in he wants to win.

Chris Chapman: [0:20] One of the better players that I have ever played with which is really fun, exciting, so he's a good kid and a really good player.

Matt Thede: [0:26] So you combine the humble Drew with character and intergrity. With a man who's just relentless and tough on the football field and competing at such a high level. Um, you've got yourself an all American kid right there.

Chris Chapman: [0:42] He, honestly as a Quarterback, he brought all the tools that you need to be to be a Quarterback. He can throw the ball when running. He did everything right.

Drew Adams: [0:49] The Quarterback is kind of expected to be a leader on the team and that's something that I definitely take great pride in. I try and be a leader through everything I do, and I've tried to make that a big part of my life, and I think that's something that football has definitely helped me with.

Lance Pederson: [1:05] Well you know it was first me, I decided to put him in at this... our first Playoff game my first season. And uh, you know just watching him from 9 games straight, I knew that kid was capable, and uh, he came out and I'm sure a lot of people were questioning what we were doing that first game against Minneapolis, but it paid off for us. You got the victory and uh you know the rest is history.

Chris Chapman: [1:28] Coach Pedersen made the decision to put in Drew and when that happened I guess it was kind of just kept rolling with it that kind of mentality, so I don't think any of us ever had any doubt because we knew the kid could play, honestly, he showed it pretty well.

Drew Adams: [1:38] It definitely wasn't something that I was expecting. My Freshman year... I mean I wouldn't say I didn't... I mean I knew I had the ability to do it. I had the confidence in myself. But it was just something that didn't happen very often, and that's where I owe a lot of credit to Coach Pedersen and the whole coaching staff, and all my teammates for just trusting me and putting me in that spot and trusting that I had the ability to do it.

Matt Thede: [2:04] He's going to give everybody a chance to be successful that's what I think leaders do. So whether that is his positive attitude and making sure that the team Is, you know, rallying the team and having a postivie attitude I think that's one of his best attributes, however I think, in the same manner he also takes responsibility so he deflects blame off of other people, and takes it himself, and I think that the third thing that has to do with being a leader and making others better around him is that he puts himself in position, he puts balls in position for kids to make catches, and to free up the running game, you know I think our Running backs were highly more successful because Drew was such a good passer, and I think our receivers were really good because he could put the ball in the money and give them a chance to catch it where the defense couldn't catch it.

Drew Adams: [2:50] Obviously my Sophomore season getting to State Championship was pretty great, and I played with a lot of great teammates, a lot of guys that I've grown up with Playing with my cousin too, who was on the team, and all of his friends, that was a pretty special season. And then my Junior season too, making it back to the dome was pretty crazy and to be there twice in a row and then my Senior season was one that I'll remember forever Obviously, just my last high school season and I broke a couple records, broke the State record, and uh, they were all pretty memorable seasons.

Lance Pederson: [3:31] Drew will be the first to tell you that it took a lot of great receivers, a lot of great linemen, a lot of great backs to make all of this happen, and so, he'd be the first to compliment and congratulate those guys on his record because he knows as well as we all know it wasn't really an individual record as much as team record, but Drew made all of that possible by throwing the football.

Drew Adams: [3:50] It was just a pretty cool feeling to know that my name would actually be in that forever. Obviously I couldn't have broken the record without my teammates, and coaches, and I had a lot of great teammates throughout the way, I mean a lot of guys who were playing Division 1 football now and making big impacts. So... I was just really fortunate to be in the situation that I was, being placed around a lot of great athletes, a lot of great teammates, and having a coach who trusted me and was able to put me in that position.

Chris Chapman: [4:20] We didn't obviously expect that to happen. I knew Drew was good, but I didn't think he was going to be "Best in the State" good, especially from how I knew him... just knew him as a Freshman, and I've known him since he was a little kid, it's just kind of cool to say that I know somebody that's in the record books and that I've known him since he was little and got to play with him, so it's pretty cool for sure.

Lance Pederson: [4:37] You know, I've been very fortunate in a 25 year span to coach a lot of very good football players, and Drew as far a passing Quarterback is without a doubt the best passing Quarterback that I've ever coached.

Matt Thede: [4:51] The fact that he is, you know, he was really close to being the "All-Time passing" leader in the state of Iowa, "All-Time Touchdown" leader, is up there in receptions, and the guys 6 ft. and got it done. I mean he's incredibly accurate with his throwing, If you could take a kid and like revolve a program around a kid, wouldn't it be Drew? I mean it's like that... he is your "All American Kid". I mean it's like he gets along well with everybody. I don't know anybody who dislikes him. He's one of your hardest workers, you know speaking of toughness. I mean he goes on the basketball court and is tough, in the football field he's tough, and you know he's making other people better around him, so if you could pick one kid to rally a team around it's probably going to be him, just because of all the attributes he brings to a program.

Lance Pederson: [5:38] I think his best contribution, you know the obvious answer is all of his passing and everything else that he does, I think his best contribution to our football team is his leadership ability. The ability to get guys together, get guys to believe in each other, get guys to work hard during the entire season and make the whole team successful.

Asset ID: 2018.08
Themes: Sports, coaching, determination, hard work, leadership, football
Date recorded: 2018
Length of recording: 6:30 m
Related traveling exhibition: Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America
Sponsor or affiliated organization: Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group (CDG), Mount Vernon, Iowa
More information: https://museumonmainstreet.org/blog-node/j-term-class-highlights-their-iowa-hometown-stories-yes