Minot’s Adams transfers from Northern Illinois to UND

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GRAND FORKS — The lure of the North Dakota oil fields has helped the University of North Dakota football team land a transfer from a team that just played in the Orange Bowl.

Dustin Adams, a former Minot standout, will transfer from Northern Illinois to UND and compete with the team during its spring drills.

Adams, a 6-foot-3, 306-pound offensive lineman, redshirted at Northern Illinois and will have four years of eligibility with UND. He is the brother of former Dickinson State women’s basketball standout Amber Adams.

Adams said his decision came down to wanting to pursue a degree in petroleum engineering, a major UND offers. Adams said his mother’s side of the family is in the oil business.

“I wanted to get into a field that was going to better me in the long run,” Adams said. “I came home this summer and talked about it, but it took three months to finally decide. When I decided, I told the coach and went from there.”

After being rated the state’s top prospect his senior year at Minot, Adams verbally committed to Hawaii. He was recruited by the staff of former head coach Greg McMackin, who stepped down two months before signing day.

Although Hawaii’s new coach, Norm Chow, reached out to Adams in hopes of maintaining the recruit, Adams was convinced to attend Northern Illinois by then-offensive line coach Rod Carey, who had spent the previous three seasons at UND.

Carey was promoted to head coach of Northern Illinois late this season after the Huskies’ offensive coordinator left due to an illness and head coach Dave Doeren took a job at North Carolina State.

Carey coached the Huskies in the Orange Bowl, where they were defeated by Florida State 31-10 on Tuesday.

“(Going to Northern Illinois) was more of an impulse decision rather than a logical one,” Adams said. “This time, it really came down to academics. Now, I’m a Sioux and it should be a fun ride.”

Adams, who said he’ll be in classes at UND on Monday, added his family is excited to see him play close to home.

Adams, who was also a basketball standout with the Magicians, was recruited as a center out of high school, although he said he practiced both guard and tackle at times at Northern Illinois.

“Everyone’s going to be a step ahead of me, knowing the playbook and the line calls,” Adams said of UND. “I’m definitely going to try to play right away. If I don’t, it’s a learning experience. But if the opportunity presents itself, I’m definitely going to go get it.”

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