Adrian Cormier '22 Recruiting Profile

Being a student of the game can often include studying the all-time greats.

At 5-foot-2 and 115 pounds, Class of 2022 running back Adrian Cormier patterns his style around the quickness, vision, and elusiveness of legend Barry Sanders.

“I like how he just made people miss and he had gifted speed,” Cormier said.

While the Richmond, Texas native has a long ways to go to measure up to the Hall of Famer, those around him say he’s certainly on a positive path for success because of not only his talent but also his drive.

Michael Jordan coached Cormier in fifth and sixth grade for the Katy Sun Devils and is coaching him this season for 7-on-7 with the Katy Cardinals.

Jordan is quick to warn those who write off Cormier because of his size.

“He’s small in stature but he’s big in heart and his upside is just off the wall, man,” Jordan said.

Cormier doesn’t shy away from the contact and is dynamic in the open field.

“He has great vision. For his size, he runs between the tackles really well,” Jordan said. “Once he gets to the second level, he’s a game changer. He can make one person miss and take it to the house.”

Cormier goes through his progressions before deciding the best discourse to attack the defense.

“I run with a balance,” Cormier said. “I’ll hit the inside if the play is inside but if there’s no hole I’ll keep looking and if I have to bounce it outside then I do that. I try to be equal with my speed and power.”

Jordan commented that the best parts of Cormier’s game are his vision and cutback ability. When Cormier has the ball and is tasked with multiple options, he’s astute enough to determine the correct decision.

“If you run a zone stretch with him and give him options, it’s pretty positive because he makes the right decisions with the ball in his hands,” Jordan said.

Cormier often makes the type of spectacular plays that gets the fans out of their seats and leaves the defense shaking their heads.

“He’s had a couple games where he’s quick to reverse the field. He’ll run to one side and then if there’s nothing there he’ll make a person miss,” Jordan said. “The defense thinks they have him but he sees something and he goes.”

Cormier helped guide the Sun Devils to an undefeated season and championship in 2015. They followed up that showing with a one-loss season in 2016.

Cormier demonstrated his big-play talent with a 5 TD performance while playing for the Sun Devils.

“It felt really good. It was like God gave me this talent and I just used it to my advantage to do it,” Cormier said. “For me to have that type of game it felt really good to show a lot of people what you’re made of and what you can do on the field.”

Cormier says he enjoys playing running back because of the many duties that goes along with the position.

“It’s a fun position. You can do everything with it,” Cormier said. “You have to be able to run the ball, you have to be able to catch it. Sometimes you even have to throw the ball. It’s a mixture of stuff and I like that I can be able to do all those things to be able to help my team.”

Jordan is proud of the way Cormier not only makes plays but also the type of teammate he is.

“He leads by example. He works hard. First one on the field and last one to leave. He’s that kid that you can pretty much rely on him to make some things happen,” Jordan said. “He’s the x-factor. He’s a great teammate. He’s always positive and encouraging. He’s always trying to pick up his teammates. He has a ‘my brother’s keeper’ mentality.”

An example of that type of leadership occurred during a game when one of Cormier’s teammates was struggling.

The teammate was missing tackles and botching plays. As Jordan called for a timeout, Cormier pulled the teammate to the side to offer some words of encouragement.

“I said ‘Listen, you’re going crazy. Calm down and be patient. When the ball comes, attack it,” Cormier said.

After the talk, the teammate went on to make many big tackles that helped the team.

“It was just good to see how I helped a player get back up on his feet after he was down,” Cormier said.

Cormier has had the opportunity to compete in various all-star events such as FBU, DMaxx Youth All-American game, S.E.C. Youth All-American game, Next Generation Youth All-American game, and EPS All-American game.

Cormier doesn’t take for granted what it means to be a part of those events.

“It feels really good to know that people are talking about your name and want to put you against the other top players,” Cormier said. “I like to go out there and compete. I love to play in those type of games.”

The benefit to that exposure was an increased awareness of what it’s going to take to accomplish all of his goals.

“It helped me a lot because it made me have to push harder,” Cormier said. “It makes me be like: ‘Okay, I’m going against the best kids. So what I have to do to beat them is I have to do all these things to outsmart them and outthink them. That’s what I tried to do.”

Cormier has his sights set on eventually playing collegiately at schools such as Florida State, Oregon or Stanford.

Jordan, a football coach for 13 years, has no doubt that Cormier is capable of playing on Saturdays and beyond.

“He’s one of the top guys that I’ve coached,” Jordan said. “He has all of the tools to succeed at the next level. The kid is special.”