COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Adams Finally Injury Free Again

Bryan Adams dates his physical status by quarterbacks. The last time he was completely without injury “was when Tommy Maddox was here,” he said.

Adams was a freshman, and his first touchdown came on a Maddox pass against Stanford in 1990.

Adams is back now, free of the hamstring pulls and sprained ankles that have dogged his last three seasons--one of which he spent as a redshirt--and is playing behind J.J. Stokes and Kevin Jordan.

“So much time has passed,” Adams said.

And so much knowledge. “I’ve learned patience,” he said. “I’ve learned my body and that there are things you just can’t rush.”

One of them is rehabilitation, a difficult lesson when others have supplanted you in the UCLA plans. After a freshman season of averaging 22 yards on three catches and getting plenty of playing time, there were big career plans that virtually vanished while he spent time hobbling around the field in a red shirt.

“When I couldn’t play, it made me moody and hard to get along with,” he said. “That’s when I learned about close friends and family. They helped get me through.”

They also helped get him ready for the season. Adams spent the summer with his father, Lee, in Bakersfield, working to find out whether his 4.37-second speed in the 40-yard dash is intact.

It is.

“As long as I have speed, I can still play,” he said.

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Injury report: Freshman tailback Shaun Williams practiced at full speed Tuesday, as did No. 1 tailback Sharmon Shah. . . . Tennessee is 5-3-1 against UCLA, having won the last two in a row, 24-6 in the 1989 opener at the Rose Bowl and 30-16 in 1991 at Knoxville. UCLA last beat the Volunteers in 1978. . . . Donahue is 11-7 in openers, 4-5 against teams ranked in the top 25 of preseason polls.