Clemson’s Adam Humphries beating the odds in the NFL

Adam Humphries wasn’t picked in the NFL Draft and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in May with no fanfare and few expectations.

That was fine with Humphries. He’s used to being an afterthought.

The 5-foot-11 receiver, who was a two-star prospect coming out of Dorman High, caught five passes for 55 yards Sunday against the New York Giants. He finished second on the Bucs in receptions and yards, behind only former top-10 pick Mike Evans.

It was quite a performance for a guy who had no scholarship offers to play football before the Tigers surprisingly offered prior to his senior season at Dorman. When he arrived in Tampa, few people associated with the team had a clue who he was.

“It wasn’t anything new to me. I’ve been overlooked my entire life,” Humphries told The State. “Coming in I was a rookie tryout, so I had to work from the very, very bottom up. I just let my play speak for itself. If the guys like what they see, they’ll keep me around. That was my mindset.”

Humphries has had that same mindset since arriving at Clemson in 2011. Many questioned why the Tigers gave him a scholarship and wondered if he would ever get on the field. Others said the Tigers only wanted Humphries to try to strengthen their position with his high school teammate, four-star receiver Charone Peake.

“We signed Sammy Watkins, Martavis Bryant, Charone Peake and Adam Humphries in that class,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney recalled. “So many people in the recruiting world, nobody wanted to give Adam any credit. It was all ‘Oh, they’re just taking Adam Humphries for Charone Peake.’ We used to laugh at that.”

Humphries made an immediate impact at Clemson, starting two games and catching 15 passes for 130 yards as a true freshman. His role increased as a sophomore. In addition to playing receiver, he helped out at cornerback and returned punts.

“The day he got here, I said ‘Wow, this kid is really picking everything up.’ He transitioned quicker than I thought he would. He was able to play several positions right out of the gate,” Swinney said. “He distinguished himself as a cut above, different, a guy that you just knew that you could count on.”

His final two seasons at Clemson, Humphries had 71 receptions and 687 yards. In addition to two touchdown catches, he also rushed for a touchdown and returned a punt for a score.

Following his senior season, Humphries wasn’t invited to the NFL combine. He didn’t go through drills in front of NFL coaches and scouts, but still held out hope that he would get a chance.

A little more than a week after the NFL Draft, he signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent.

“When he went there I told him, ‘Just continue to be who you have been and these coaches, this is what they do for a living, they’re going to recognize that,’” Swinney said.

Humphries impressed at rookie minicamp, training camp and in preseason games. As cuts were made, he survived. In Tampa Bay’s final preseason game, he caught four passes for 62 yards, including a touchdown.

The following week, as the Bucs made cuts, he missed a call from coach Lovie Smith. The message simply said to call the coach back.

“I called him back and he told me that I had made the team, that I had earned it and just kind of congratulated me. It was a pretty awesome experience to hear that from the head coach,” Humphries said.

He started Tampa Bay’s opener, making two catches for 14 yards, but played only a couple of plays over the next few weeks. With the Bucs sitting at 1-3 after four games, he was sent to the practice squad and told the team wanted to try some new things.

After Louis Murphy suffered a season-ending injury in Week 7, Humphries was promoted back to the active roster. His first game back, he tied for the team lead with three receptions as Tampa Bay stunned the 6-1 Falcons.

“It was really special for me finding out that I would be back up and active that week. My entire family came, and a lot of guys from the Clemson team now came after their game with NC State so I had a big crowd there supporting me,” he said.