Football
Sep 6 (Sat)
1:30 PM
- Title:
- Assistant Coach/Running Backs/Tight Ends
- Email:
- Klayton.Adams@Colorado.EDU
Last updated on July 19, 2018
Klayton Adams is in his sixth year on the Colorado staff, his third as the offensive line coach and his first as a co-offensive coordinator. He coached the running backs and tight ends in his first three seasons in Boulder after joining new head coach Mike MacIntyre’s staff on January 1, 2013.
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Adams, 35, came to CU from San Jose State, where he coached the tight ends under MacIntyre for two seasons. Though he never directly coached the running backs before coming to Colorado, at San Jose he effectively integrated the tight ends into several hybrid roles and had run game coordination experience in his background. At SJSU, he coached two-time John Mackey Award watch list member Ryan Otten to honorable mention All-American honors.
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He transitioned smoothly into coaching the offensive line, as the 2016 group allowed the team to post its highest average per rush in 10 seasons (4.12), blocked for its first 1,000-yard runner in seven years (Phillip Lindsay, 1,189 yards) and cut down the overall sacks allowed by 13 from the previous season (41 to 28, with just 14½ of those allowed by the O-line). The linemen were flagged for just 23 penalties in 13 games. Lindsay again rushed for over 1,000 yards (1,474) in 2017, becoming the first player in CU history to accomplish that feat in back-to-back seasons.
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As running back coach, in his first year in Boulder the Buffs enjoyed modest increases in yards per attempt and per game, but of the team’s 14 total fumbles, itself a school record, his players at both positions just had one of those (down from eight in 2012). Then in 2014, the running backs had all of four fumbles of CU’s 12 (another school low), and for the first time in its history, the Buffaloes had four different players rush for over 300 yards (actually 390). In the same time, the tight ends have proved to be solid blockers and have improved as the season progressed.
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In 2015, six different players rushed for at least 200 yards, just the fourth time that occurred in school history and for the first time since 1989, when the Buffs ran an option offense. And once again, the backs held on to ball, suffering just six fumbles for the 13-game season.
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He joined the San Jose State staff in April 2011 after two seasons at Sacramento State, his first full-time Division I (FCS) coaching experience. He was the Hornets' offensive tackles and tight ends coach his first year there in 2009, and then was promoted to the offensive line coach in 2010. Continuing his rapid rise, he was set to serve as Sacramento State’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach before he was hired by MacIntyre at SJSU.
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While at Sacramento State, he coached three players to All-Big Sky Conference honors. His 2010 offensive linemen paved the way for the school's best ground attack over a five-season span averaging 170.4 yards per game.
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He graduated from Boise State in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication with an emphasis in Journalism. He lettered twice at center for Coach Dan Hawkins on the 2003 and 2004 Bronco Western Athletic Conference championship teams that had a combined 24-2 record and won the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl and played in the 2004 Liberty Bowl.  BSU finished 13-1 his junior year, ranked No. 16 in the final Associated Press poll, and was 11-1 his senior year (No. 12) when he was a second-team All-WAC selection.
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He began his coaching career at Boise State in 2005 as a student assistant under Hawkins, who would become CU’s head coach the following year. In 2006, Adams was the Broncos' offensive graduate assistant working primarily with the offensive line. He moved on to Western Washington University for the 2007 and 2008 seasons as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
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He was born February 13, 1983 in Sacramento, Calif., he graduated from Sheldon High School (Elk Grove, Calif.), where he lettered in football, wrestling and track and field. He is married to the former Stefani Panenka, and the couple has three young daughters, Mya (8), Emmy (6) and Harper (3).
AT-A-GLANCE—He has coached in 88 Division I-A (FBS) games as a full-time coach, and has coached in four bowl games (2005 MPC Computer, 2007 Fiesta, 2012 Military, 2016 Alamo).
| COACHING EXPERIENCE | ||
| 2006 | Boise State | Offensive Graduate Assistant |
| 2007-08 | Western Washington | Run Game Coordinator / Offensive Line |
| 2009 | Sacramento State | Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends |
| 2010 | Sacramento State | Offensive Line |
| 2011-12 | San Jose State | Tight Ends |
| 2013-15 | Colorado | Running Backs & Tight Ends |
| 2016 | Colorado | Offensive Line |
| 2018-Present | Colorado | Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line |
