College football is targeting pro players as they are ready to make an impact. Last season, South Alabama landed 26 YO Bubba Thompson as a walk-on QB. Arkansas secured 28 YO former MLB outfielder Monte Harrison in 2024 as a freshman WR. Now, SMU is joining this trend, signing 2018 first-round MLB Draft pick, Jordyn Adams.

Adams signed a football scholarship with the Mustangs, and the 26-year-old athlete is planning to join the team as a WR, as reported by ON3’s Billy Embody on Tuesday, June 2.

In 2018, the former MLB outfielder was a five-star football prospect coming out of Green Hope High School. He even ranked as the nation’s No. 3 WR with only Amon-Ra St. Brown and Ja’Marr Chase ahead of him. He initially committed to UNC to play both football and baseball. In high school, he posted a massive .453 batting average in his senior season and logged 34 hits across 24 games. But that never panned out as pro baseball got him in with a $4.1 million bonus.

He was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels 17th overall in the 2018 MLB draft. After that, he spent five years in the minor leagues. In 2023, he received his first call-up. In his debut season, Adams played 17 games for Los Angeles. Then, in 2024, he hit his first MLB home run against the Minnesota Twins. But after that season, the Angels didn’t tender him a contract, and that pushed him to seek a new home. But how can a 26 year old get started as a WR in college?

Jordyn Adams is eligible to play college football at 26 years old because he never enrolled in college after high school and only played professional baseball, which does not impact his eligibility for a completely different college sport. The NCAA eligibility rules that allow this transition operate under specific guidelines.

First is the the “Five-Year Clock” Delay. Traditional college athletes have five years to play four seasons. However, this “clock” only starts ticking the moment a student regularly enrolls full-time at a university. Because Adams skipped college entirely, his collegiate athletic clock never started. NCAA rules also state that an athlete is only deemed a “professional” in the specific sport they were paid to play. While Adams cannot play college baseball, his amateur status remains perfectly intact for college football.

A move like this is not unique. This kind of crossover has produced successful athletes in the past. Chris Weinke played six years in minor league baseball and then enrolled at Florida State at age 25. He ended up winning the Heisman Trophy in 2000 at age 28. Brandon Weeden spent years in the MLB minor leagues before enrolling at Oklahoma State, eventually becoming the starting quarterback.

But it isn’t like Adams immediately jumped sports. In 2025, he signed a minor-league deal with the Baltimore Orioles, and before his retirement in May 2026, he played with the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Across his eight seasons in MLB, he appeared in 38 games and recorded 13 hits.

As for SMU, there is clear upside to this move. Following a 9-4 season under Rhett Lashlee, Adams’ addition seems an enormous achievement for SMU. He brings talent and strength to the program. In high school, he caught 54 passes for 1,060 yards, along with 12 TDs as a senior.

Is Jordyn Adams fruitful for SMU?

There’s no doubt about Adams’ potential, as the two-sport high school star earned the 2017–18 MaxPreps Male High School Athlete of the Year award. Even in 2018, when he committed to North Carolina, then-recruiting analyst Barton Simmons praised his skill.

“I really felt like Adams was the most impressive wide receiver in this setting,” said Simmons. “It’s all on air, no defenders, and so the guys with fluidity and natural ball skills are the guys that stand out. Adams, to me, has some Odell Beckham in him. While Beckham may be a diva in the NFL, he was a quiet grinder in high school.”

“He was totally focused, a little quiet, and already the best technician in the class. That’s what I see out of Adams, but what’s remarkable about that is he hasn’t even begun playing wide receiver full time, or even football full time,” added the analyst.

But there’s concern because Bubba Thompson’s career didn’t find success as a college QB with the Jaguars. In 2025, he stuck as the fourth-string QB on the depth chart. Following that, he transferred down to UWF, a Division II football program. Now, we will see whether Adams finds success with the Mustangs or not in the 2026 season.