As the Fayette County High football team launches into spring practice, they do it with extra fire added from an inspirational visit from NFL alums Andrew Adams and Kevin Minter.

Adams was born and raised in Fayetteville before attending the University of Connecticut. He went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft but was undeterred. He started 13 games as a rookie for the New York Giants and went on to play in the league for 8 seasons as a safety.

Minter was an All-SEC player LSU, parlaying a prolific college career into a long NFL run as a linebacker. He was picked in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He played 9 seasons.

Adams and Minter were teammates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl LV winning team in 2021.

The visit was made possible by relationships built with the community that is eager to see the Tigers back on the prowl. Fayette County High head football coach Eric Solomon believes it will be a defining moment for the program being able to listen to two Super Bowl champions.

His team heard about what it takes to be a great teammate, the process, academics, being coachable, taking care of your body, and mindset.

“They spent 2 hours of pouring into our players. Our kids were engaged and excited,” said Solomon. “I pray our boys realize that what you put into this game of football is what you will get out. Football is a laboratory for developing boys into men. Not only on Fridays when the score is kept, life keeps the score as well, so they must win at everything else they do.”