Friday, July 24, 1998

Flozell the Hotel makes big impression

By DENNE H. FREEMAN AP Sports Writer

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) - It was a hit that quickly became the talk of training camp.

"It was nasty," said eyewitness Nate Newton, who saw the block that rookie Flozell "The Hotel" Adams had thrown earlier this week.

"He slammed this dude down and the ground trembled," Newton said in awe. "It was a nasty incident. It reminded me of a truck hitting a fly. This dude's whole day passed away right in front of him."

Linebacker Nate Hemsley was the luckless victim of Adams' wrath.

The 6-foot-7, 335-pound Adams brushed off the incident as a mere skirmish. "That was just football."

Adams, the Cowboys second-round draft choice, isn't hard to find on the practice field. He's the big guy blocking out part of the sun and any defensive lineman or linebacker who moves near him.

"He has a tremendous amount of talent," said Dallas coach Chan Gailey. "We won't push him to be a starter, but we like what we see so far. He's having an excellent training camp."

Adams, second team Associated Press All-America, is backing up Erik Williams at right tackle but is so versatile he can play most of the positions on the offensive line.

For now, training camp is just a blur for the rookie.

"There are a lot of things for me to work on, that's for sure," said Adams. "Everything seems to be going a little faster than college. I guess that's to be expected."

Michigan State coach Nick Saban once said of Flozell: "Adams reminds me of a road grader. He just cleared everything out of his path."

However, it was a television crew doing a Michigan State game that gave Adams his "Hotel" nickname.

"I don't mind it," Adams said. "Maybe I can get some commercials some day for hotels."

Adams drew compliments from friend and foe alike.

Michigan linebacker Sam Sword said Adams "reminds me of Orlando Pace. He just knocks people everywhere. He's a man child."

Against Notre Dame in a 23-7 win, Adams was shown on film with 14 knockdown blocks as the Spartans rushed for 222 yards. He had six pancake blocks in a win over Penn State.

Adams was the 38th overall pick in the draft. It was the highest Dallas had taken an offensive lineman since it got Howard Richards at 28th in the 1981 draft.

The only downside to Adams was a rumor he couldn't hear. He does have a slight hearing impairment in his right ear but nothing to keep him from hearing the quarterback.

"Everything about that got blown out of proportion and I'm not sure if that's why I slid in the draft," Adams said.

Dallas defensive linemen in training camp will testify that Adams is hearing signals quite well.

"He's a tough guy to try to get around," said end Kavika Pittman. "Boy, is he big."