Derrick Brown and his son, Chad Adams, have been going to the same barber shop for 17 years now. And for the first eight or nine, Adams wouldn’t talk to the barbers. He was dead silent.

“They still tease him,” Brown said.

Odd? Maybe to those who don’t know him. Rude? Definitely not.

It’s just Adams, Arizona State’s senior safety. It’s the way he’s always been. He keeps to himself.

You won’t find many quotes from Adams himself in this story because he hardly speaks to the media, a personal choice. Heads turned on Tuesday when he walked into the hallway to field questions from a scrum of reporters, the only time he’s spoken in an organized fashion since the season started. He was jovial during his five-minute session and shook everyone’s hand after he was finished, signs that his public silence doesn’t equate to a lack of politeness.

It’s nothing personal against anyone. Adams finally opened up to those barbers, and he’s certainly not quiet around family and close friends. There’s a trust factor with him.

“He doesn’t let a lot of people in, but once you get in, you’re in,” Brown said.

A NATURAL

When Adams was 4 years old, he would annoy his father to go outside and play catch with him. He wouldn’t let up until he got what he wanted.

Brown couldn’t say no. After all, he was a diehard football fan who exposed his son to the story from an early age.

Outside, they went.

“I used to have a rule, when you drop five passes, we’re going in the house,” Brown said.

The two threw the ball just about every day. Literally. Adams wouldn’t let his father off the hook.

Brown said it was frustrating at times because his son couldn’t catch the ball. He would close his eyes instead of looking it into his small hands.

“But after a while, he caught everything,” Brown said.

Brown coached Adams’ football teams from the time his son played flag football in kindergarten all the way until he reached 7th grade. Adams played all over the field. This wasn’t the kid who couldn’t corral the ball. He was a natural.

Until high school, Adams played quarterback. When the two would watch football, Brown noticed Adams taking in all the information he could possibly retain. By 6th grade, Adams could spot different defenses, like a Cover 2 or Cover 3.

“Even in high school, you could watch his old film and see him yanking his teammates and putting them in the right place because he knew where they should be and they didn’t even know,” Brown said.

Adams attended Allen High School, a powerhouse football school north of Dallas. He started as a sophomore, a rarity at that school. He won back-to-back state championships in his final two years of high school and ended his career rated a 3-star prospect on Rivals.com.

He played both ways — running back and receiver on offense, safety on defense. He was 5-foot-7, 145 pounds and ran a legitimate 4.3 40-yard dash at the time, according to Brown.

“Chad is an outstanding football player and if he was 6-feet tall, he probably would’ve had an offer to every school in the nation,” Brown said.

Brown speaks proudly when reminiscing about his son’s high school career. Adams made a name for himself in the heart of a football-crazed state, not in some small town in the middle of nowhere.

There was legitimate competition. Like, NFL-caliber competition.

Per Brown, Allen High “destroyed” No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett’s team before Garrett started terrorizing quarterbacks while playing at Texas A&M. Adams and his team also defeated third-overall pick Solomon Thomas’ school and No. 6 overall pick Jamal Adams’ team.

Those three were all drafted this past April and are currently NFL rookies.

“Chad was better than all those guys, but size just didn’t work in his favor,” Brown said with a chuckle.

‘DON’T GET DOWN ON YOURSELF’

The start of Adams’ college career was far from ideal.

He expected to be a first-team defensive back upon arriving in Tempe. According to Brown, the coaches wanted him to as well. But Adams never received that opportunity, mostly because of a slow start due to difficulty adjusting to being away from home for the first time in his life.

Back in Texas, Brown said Adams would sometimes go out with friends but spent the majority of his time at home with his parents and sister. He was a homebody.

When the fall of his freshman year began, ASU had Adams at cornerback, somewhere he had never played. His situation lacked consistency. Brown said he didn’t exactly agree with ASU coach Todd Graham’s handling of his son, and still doesn’t to this day.

“(Coach Todd Graham) was yanking him in and out of the lineup,” Brown said. “You have to let Chad know, ‘I believe in you’ and you’ll get the best out of him. But if he feels, ‘One day I’ll be playing’ or ‘Oh, I’m just filling in because somebody is hurt,’ you’re not going to get everything out of him.”

As Adams experienced a difficult period filled with doubt, his father’s message was just about the only constant he had.

“Don’t get down on yourself,” Brown would tell his son. “It might not go the way you want it to, but you have to go out there every day and give it your all. If you give it your all, at the end of the day, whatever happens, happens.”

Brown played football and ran track. He said he never had anyone to tell him what he truly needed to hear. So, in turn, he provides that for his son.

Brown didn’t want a 30-year-old Adams wondering what could have been, especially if his football career were to end after this season. Brown demanded Adams not throw a pity party because truth is, he has the means to put his best foot forward now, so he should do so.

“Life is going to knock you down, you just have to decide to get back up,” Brown said.

Adams appeared in every game as a freshman but made just six tackles with one pass breakup. Though it’s over now, Brown said he wishes Adams would have been redshirted so he could have used the extra season to better his NFL potential.

He could have a point. In the past year alone, Adams has grown by leaps and bounds, so imagine if he had another. First-year defensive coordinator Phil Bennett called him the surprise of spring practice months ago and has praised Adams many times since.

Adams has been one of the leaders on this year’s defense while starting at safety. The senior has made 51 tackles while intercepting two passes.

“Chad had to step up. We lost good safeties like Damarious (Randall), Jordan Simone, all of them,” ASU senior linebacker DJ Calhoun said. “But Chad’s been stepping up, everything, and I feel like he’s one of the great tacklers on this team, too. He’s had some hiccups here and there, but I like Chad. He’s smart as hell, too.”

So, what changed?

It seems a familiar face facilitated Adams’ improvement. Back in high school, Adams committed to Baylor. His best friend since 8th grade, current ASU linebacker Christian Sam, wanted to follow him there, but Sam’s mother did not want him to make the decision at that exact moment.

The defensive coordinator they were committing to?

None other than Bennett.

“Chad, do not de-commit on me,” Brown remembers Bennett telling his son.

Not long after, Brown took Adams and Sam to visit ASU. Both fell in love with the school and the football program. Adams and Sam committed to the Sun Devils and began their careers playing under then-defensive coordinator Keith Patterson, now the linebackers coach.

Back in January, ASU hired Bennett to fill its defensive coordinator vacancy when Patterson was given a new role. Reunited with the man who originally recruited him, Adams began the spring with a more prominent role on defense.

“I think Coach Bennett doesn’t hold his size against him,” Brown said.

Of the four starters in the secondary in ASU’s season opener in August, Adams had by far the most game experience. The Sun Devils had so many question marks back there. They needed Adams at his best. He’s given them just that.

“A person that knows the whole defense,” sophomore corner Kobe Williams said of Adams. “He’s just a game management player, he keeps everything cool on the field. He knows all the calls, just does everything at the right time. You saw that nice pick he had (against UCLA). Every day at practice, he brings it.”

Adams is also helping bring along underclassmen. Freshman safety Evan Fields said Adams is like a big brother to him.

When Fields was forced into action because safety Das Tautalatasi was ejected for targeting, Adams became a teacher. Fields said Adams helped him get used to the college game on the fly.

“He’s been helping me get adjusted to that, just being able to help me learn so I can use my full athletic ability on the field instead of being limited because of stuff I don’t know,” Fields said.

And when Fields gets chewed out at practice, which he said happens often because he’s one of the youngest on the team, big brother is there for him.

“He’ll come up to me after practice,” Fields said. “We even meet together sometimes and he brings food for me and we’ll sit and watch film together.”

Bennett always said it would be a journey for this year’s defense. That perhaps applied best to the defensive backs, an unproven position group coming off two historically awful seasons.

Led by its “quarterback,” as coach Todd Graham dubs Adams, the secondary has made strides.

“It’s just been a blast seeing them grow,” Adams said of the younger defensive backs like Williams, Fields, and cornerback Chase Lucas.

Adams will be honored with the rest of the seniors at Senior Day on Saturday when the Sun Devils take on rival Arizona. There isn’t much to be said for the game’s importance. That speaks for itself.

Adams, whose journey is a sign of perseverance and staying the course while showing rare maturity for his age, said he’ll be both happy and sad when he steps on the field for the final time.

“It’ll be a lot of emotions running through my head,” Adams said. “It’s been a great time here at Sun Devil Stadium. All the great memories, all the ups and the downs, all the great times I had with my teammates, not just on the field but also off the field.”

His family will also be in attendance, but that’s a regularity. Well, sort of.

Brown said he attended every one of Adams’ games from kindergarten through the middle of his freshman year. If there was one person Adams could count on being there — through rain, sleet, snow, sickness or any other circumstance — it was Brown.

But he stopped going during the middle of Adams’ freshman season.

“It used to break my heart to sit in the stands and he didn’t get in that game,” Brown said.

Brown has been at every home game during his son’s senior year, though. When he travels to Arizona with his wife, they’ll stay in a hotel. But if he goes alone, he crashes on a couch at the Adams and Sam residence.

It’s like old times as Brown and the two Sun Devils — not boys anymore, but grown men — stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning talking. Except now, Brown can actually see his son in action when ASU hits the field.

Four years ago, Adams was lost. He couldn’t find his footing in Tempe, He expected to be a regular, but it didn’t work out that way.

This season, he’s made his mark on the program.

“I really think Coach Bennett instilled that confidence back in him because Coach Graham took a lot out of Chad those first two years,” Brown said.

And Graham can’t help but compliment his safety.

“Great young man and he’s meant a lot to our program,” Graham said. “He’s such a selfless player and a great person and I’ve been really proud of him.”

CALMING PRESENCE

So, what type of person is Chad Adams?

“You wouldn’t know he’s in a room if you stayed nights with him, days,” Bennett said. “He’s just very nonverbal. He’s a good kid and a quiet kid keeps his thoughts to himself.”

“He’s very quiet, keeps to himself,” Sam said. “He’s just out there taking care of business … He doesn't cause trouble.”

“He’s probably one of the quietest on our defense,” Williams said. “If you see him out of practice or stuff, he’s cool, he’ll talk more. But at practice, he’s real quiet.”

Some college football coaches need a “get back guy,” someone who keeps them from running onto the field and being penalized. Adams is the opposite.

He has hype men, teammates who will constantly try to rile him up.

“Before we even run out (on the field), I’m just like, ‘Let’s go Chad!” slapping him on the helmet, trying to get him hyped up, and he’s just like, “All right, let’s go,’” linebacker A.J. Latu said.

Once the defense is on the field, Adams gets the call and relays it to his teammates. He may not be pushing people into position like he did in high school, but he’s still in command.

And in his final year, his confidence seems to be there.

“From last year to this year, he’s playing with a more — well, you can see his swag this year,” Williams said.

Like all football players, Adams enters his own zone when he takes the field. He then plays with a balance.

His teammates describe him as calm and composed, and it seems his game features a serenity that’s unique in such an emotionally charged sport. Then, during plays, he can be seen flying around the field and throwing his body at opposing players.

“Some say it just clicks in their mind,” Adams said. “I just lock in, focus and try to get my job done every single play.”

The hype man during games? That role shifts.

“It’ll probably be different people on a daily basis depending on who’s around me when I make a play, really,” Adams said.

All parents seem to say their kids are the best, Brown said. He and his wife, however, feel they actually have grounds to believe that.

Though he may not say much depending on the person, Adams thanks people for everything. His father may send a positive message with constructive criticism after a game. Adams always responds expressing gratitude. When teammates congratulate him on a good game, he thanks them in his own easygoing tone.

Brown said football is really only icing on the cake because of his son’s character.

“He never gets in trouble, you don’t have to worry about all the alcohol, drugs, making the wrong decisions, because we put all the right values in him early,” he said.

And about that quietness?

That’s just the way he is. Brown says one has to build a rapport with Adams to show his son they can be trusted.

Adams isn’t silent with Sam, his childhood best friend. Or those barbers. He surely isn’t like that with Brown.

“He’ll talk my ear off,” Brown said.

***

As Adams strolled into the hallway at ASU’s Student-Athlete Facility on Tuesday and settled up against the wall, recorders and cameras were immediately placed in his face. He didn’t look like a deer in the headlights, though. He instead embraced the crowd with an upbeat tone.

Asked about what Senior Day will mean, especially against rival Arizona, he flashed a smile.

“This is going to be a great time,” Adams said.

What perhaps makes it even sweeter is what he went through to get there. He entered the program with great promise but found himself buried on the depth chart. He was down on his situation, but picked himself back up and made the most of it.

Adams’ journey was filled with twist and turns, but Brown said the way his son handled it is emblematic of his character. Adams stayed the course through everything.

When Adams makes a great play, he may wag the occasional finger at an opposing receiver. But he doesn’t go much further. That’s something Brown taught him — a defensive back can knock away or intercept a pass on one play before getting burned by 50 yards on the next. Remaining leveled is key.

And in the bigger picture, hasn’t that been the theme of his entire college career?

“Stay even-keeled because life’s going to give you its highs and its lows, just ride the wave,” Brown always tells his son. “Don’t get down on yourself because you can always pick yourself back up.”