It took only three years for Garrett Adcock to graduate with a biology degree from the University of New Mexico. But with two years of football eligibility remaining, he needed something else to do. More of a challenge, something more to work toward. So, he chose to pursue law.

“Hey, I have this crazy idea,” he told his adviser about two and a half years ago. “I want to apply to law school.”

Adcock was one of only nine FBS players who had earned a bachelor’s degree as a junior. This year, he’s the lone senior football player in the country enrolled in his second year of law school. The redshirt senior right tackle is also an integral force for the Lobos (1-2), who come off a 7-6 record and bowl game appearance in 2015.

A true freshman in 2012, Adcock earned eight starts and appeared in 12 games. He started 10 games as a redshirt sophomore in 2014. He missed most of last season with injuries, but again is starting on the offensive line this year.

About two years ago, the New Mexico coaching staff had a “long” discussion but agreed Adcock could manage law school’s academic load with Division I football. He had graduated with a 4.03 GPA, and in 2015, NFL.com rated him as the fifth-smartest college football player. The Lobos coaching staff didn’t hesitate much, even if it meant Adcock’s classes would conflict with team activities.

A typical day for Adcock starts around 6 a.m. with treatment, breakfast, team workouts and practice. After, he grabs lunch and is in class from 1-5 p.m. Every evening, he reads 50-70 pages a night. Some days, he also prepares legal briefs and presentations.

When the Lobos travel, he often pulls out a book “as thick as a brick” to catch up on reading, said Jack Lamm, a redshirt senior on the Lobos offensive line who lived with Adcock for three years. Adcock tutored Lamm in calculus, and has also helped other teammates in their classes.

“You see some guys on their phones, on their tablets watching shows,” Lamm said of team flights and bus rides. “And then you see Garrett with a 3-inch textbook, leather bound fancy writing on the side, reading page after page.”

“There was hardly ever a time he wasn’t studying,” Lamm said. “Not compulsiveness, he just took his studying seriously and it’s paid off drastically.”

One day last semester, Adcock turned in a brief for a law class. Then he gave an oral argument in front of an attorney. Then he skedaddled to football practice, donning a suit, briefcase in hand. He “rushed into practice, breathing hard,” and got ready to train, before changing back into a suit later that day for another law class.

Courtesy of University of New Mexico Athletics

“It hit me like damn, this is pretty crazy,” the 6-foot-2, 288-pound Adcock said. “It’s not normal, but a lot of fun. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

From a young age, Adock showed academic drive. By the time he arrived at elementary school, he was at a high school reading level, his mother said. Adock’s kindergarten teacher, Clara Wetherford, said “he always wanted to help” other students with assignments and activities. She’d often tell him not to do work for others.

At age 15, he began taking online classes through a local community college. On weekends in high school, Adcock rarely partied. Instead he studied and worked out. He graduated as valedictorian of his class with a 4.6 GPA.

Now, he spends holiday breaks in Ghana, where his family opened a hospital and school.

He came into college with 31 credits, the equivalent of one academic year. He’s now a finalist for the Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships, which provide some of the top college students in the country a chance to study for two years at Oxford University. After he graduates from law school, the three-time Mountain West Academic All-Conference player wants to get an MBA or study medicine.

Two weeks before classes started his freshman year, Adcock phoned Derek Sokoloff, senior academic coordinator for athletics at UNM, to introduce himself and inquire about how he could earn his degree as fast as possible. On one of his first days of that semester, Adcock walked into Sokoloff’s office with a checklist. He had circled the classes he wanted to take and mapped out his degree plan, along with additional summer classes he wanted to take.

“I’m like, ‘You’re a freshman and you’ve basically just done my job,’” Sokoloff said. “From Day 1, he has hit the ground running. It’s insane what he can do.”

Published on September 19, 2016 at 9:08 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21