BILLINGS — Helena Capital product Tuff Adams is the exact type of guy that Rocky Mountain College head coach Chris Stutzriem wants in his program.
“His work ethic and who he is as a person," Stutzriem said of Adams. "It doesn't matter, you'll never know if he's 100% or 10%. He performs the same way and practices the same way. He's Montana tough. His name fits him."
“Definitely something we preached on through winter (conditioning) and the summer was we were bottom of the barrel, and that's something we've got to come back from," Adams said.
Stutzriem has made a point during his tenure at Rocky to recruit homegrown kids like Adams, as there are Treasure State kids all over the Battlin’ Bears roster.
“If you look at from my first year to where we are now, we're close to 70% of Montana and Northern Wyoming kids," Stutzriem said. "We want to win locally. We're not going to win on everybody. They've got different majors, want to move away or go here or there. And there's a lot of great coaches and teams in this conference that make it hard to keep those kids here, but we want to win with those kids first and foremost."
Adams, a true 19-year-old sophomore, is expected to get substantial work in the backfield alongside running mate Brock Ping, a Billings Central grad. Those touches he earns this season are a product of his hard work.
“Definitely competition level, and you've got to love that. That's what makes you better. Iron sharpens iron. You've got to believe that the person next to you can do just as good of a job as you," Adams said. "I like to put in the work, and that's one of the best things I do."
"He really grew each and every week. His toughness is what we need. Those Frontier backs, I don't care what team you're looking at, they're big kids," Stutzriem said. "We're excited for him. How he attacks every day. He's fun to be around. His leadership is growing, but he's 19 years old. He's going to keep growing and doing the right things, but he sets the tone in that room of what's expected."
Adams and Rocky open the season on Sept. 6 at home against College of Idaho.
