Just one day after Ishmael Adams avoided felony charges stemming from an Aug. 30 arrest, UCLA head coach Jim Mora reinstated the cornerback. The move also happened to occur on the same day in which the program lost cornerback Fabian Moreau.
Not that the two news items are related, or anything.
The Los Angeles District Attorney determined evidence of Adams’ robbery of an Uber driver did not warrant felony charges on Monday. He still could face misdemeanor charges, but that isn’t a hinderance to him rejoining the Bruins.
A 2014 first-team All-Pac-12 defensive back, Adams has tallied six interceptions the past two seasons and should bolster UCLA’s flagging secondary — especially in light of Moreau’s absence after he suffered a Lisfranc injury that will keep him out the rest of the year.
Mora spoke about reinstating Adams, noting the time already spent suspended and the student-athlete’s “remorse” as reasons for the move.
“We feel as a program that he’s missed a quarter of his season,” Mora said, via Jack Wang of insidesocal.com. “He’s shown remorse for the actions that he’s taken. He’s accepted responsibility. He’s accepted the consequences. He’s apologized profusely to his team, his teammates, this staff, and he’s come back with a great attitude.
“So we’re going to move forward that way. If things change, we’ll adjust.”
Of course, it’s easy to see how convenient it was to go ahead and slide Adams right back into the mix on the same day Moreau was lost.
But that’s just the way it works sometimes.
Hopefully for Adams and the program he represents, his cell phone robbery was a one-time moment of stupidity. He surely possesses the talent to perhaps take his game to the next level after his tenure with UCLA is finished, but another red flag could doom his chances before he ever arrives at that point.