Adams admitted at Oregon

Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. has moved another step closer to playing football for the University of Oregon, the school confirmed Monday afternoon. Adams has been admitted and is eligible to enroll in graduate school, the UO registrar told The Spokesman-Review on Monday. His next window for enrollment isn’t until Aug. 5, but in the meantime, he is eligible to participate in non-official workouts and drills with other Oregon players. Adams has yet to enroll, a UO official said. Until he does so, Adams is not eligible to participate in summer conditioning sessions organized by the UO athletic department. Adams, an All-American the past two years at Eastern Washington, participated in EWU commencement exercises on June 13, but said a few days later that he still had two math tests to complete before he could graduate. His admission to Oregon appears to confirm that he has completed the math test. Eastern has yet to post an official list of spring term graduates, but is expected to do so in the next few days. EWU officials could not confirm that Adams had graduated with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. Adams declined to answer telephone and text messages Monday afternoon. The news gave credence to remarks from Oregon coach Mark Helfrich, who said in a teleconference on June 23 that he didn’t anticipate “any hiccups” in getting Adams eligible. Adams announced his intention to transfer on Feb. 9; he is believed to be the first to exploit the NCAA’s graduate transfer rule to “move up” from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Adams is expected to compete for the starting quarterback spot at Oregon this fall. In a three-year career at Eastern, the 5-foot-11 Adams threw for 10,438 yards, 110 touchdowns and 31 interceptions while completing 64.8 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 11 touchdowns and was twice runner-up for the Walter Payton Award, given to the country’s best FCS player. Oregon begins fall practice on Aug. 10, the same day as Eastern. The schools meet Sept. 5 in Eugene.